Chapter 826: Recovery
When Vahn arrived back at Lil Geirr, he noticed that the number of deaths had far exceeded his expectation. Since more than half of the people residing within the settlement were just 'normal' people, they had no way of protecting themselves at all after an attack occurred from the inside. Most of the Adventurers had been moved to the walls to protect against the monster wave, leaving them exposed at the 'heart'. Vahn realized they had been outmaneuvered quite a bit during this conflict and, if not for the relatively large difference in overall strength, the Alliance would have suffered a far greater loss than they were prepared to shoulder...
Many of the Adventurers had been pulled from the walls at the point and were helping move the injured to the medical ward while others lined up the deceased and covered them with blankets. Gareth and Finn were both present at the site, the latter directing everyone while Gareth was talking with Aisha and a very angry looking Bete. When the rampant Werewolf noticed Vahn and Ais touch down, he came over with great momentum and tried to grab Vahn's collar. Not fond of being 'handled', Vahn grabbed Bete's outstretched wrist and bent it to the side, brows furrowing slightly as he said, "I have other duties to deal with, Bete. If you have a problem, shelve it until later..."
Bete clenched his teeth, obviously dissatisfied with having his arm leveraged against him by Vahn. However, instead of following his instinct to try and kick Vahn, which he knew would end very badly for him, Bete's expression broke slightly as he said, "Please, help Lena..." Vahn let go of Bete's wrist, scanning the area as Gareth and Aisha walked over, the latter clarifying, "We Amazonesses were the closest to the incident and responded to try and help as many people as we could. Lena...she ended up taking a bad hit..." Hearing this, Vahn took a deep breath and communicated with the girls, explaining he would be along shortly before helping Bete stand straight, saying, "Show me. I'll do what I can..."
Ais went off to 'fetch' Alexa for him, as Vahn was feeling slightly anxious without confirming her safety with his own eyes, while Bete and Aisha led the way to a room separate from the larger medical ward. Bete hesitated outside of the door, a pained expression on his face until Vahn 'gently' struck him against the back and said, "This is when a man shows his backbone..." Without waiting for Bete, Vahn made his way into the room and saw that Lena was being nursed by two other Amazonesses while a Chientrhope 'doctor' was tying a tourniquet to the stump where Lena's left arm used to be. They had avoided closing the wound with an Elixir, likely because Bete had intended to ask him for help from the start...
When the girls inside the room saw Vahn, they showed expressions of relief as the Chienthrope woman with dirty-blond hair smiled and said, "I'm glad you showed up...thus far, we've kept her stable by feeding a low potency Elixir directly into her stomach..." Vahn held up his hand, a kind smile on his face and said, "You did well. Leave the rest to me..." He could already see the tube inside Lena's nose that extended all the way into her stomach, an upturned Elixir drip at the side being held by one of the Amazonesses. This world was severely lacking in medical sciences, something Vahn intended to change in the future when there was more time...
Though he could use other means to heal Lena, Vahn didn't really want to spend that much time within the dark room, directly using his [Wounds Transfer] with the unconscious Amazoness as the target. A sharp pain spread through his arm as the limbs 'dissolved' into particles of magical energy and immediately began regrowing Lena's. When she had fully recovered, Vahn moved his 'phantom' arm and allowed his [Magia Erebea] to regenerate the injury, all while everyone in the room watched with expressions of abject shock. Bete had also made his way into the room, witnessing the event and staring slack-jawed as his lover's arm and injuries were completely recovered in just a few seconds.
Vahn flexed his left hand and arm a few times, commenting, "You need to remove the tourniquet to restore the flow of blood before you damage the nerves..." These were his last words as he pat Bete's shoulder and made his way out of the room, Aisha following close behind. Seeing Lena's injuries made Vahn want to move to the actual medical ward and lend a hand as he felt slightly responsible for what had happened, even if that wasn't truly the case. He only made it a few steps down the corridor, however, when Bete burst out of the room, a complex expression on his face as he murmured, "Thank you..."
By the time Vahn turned around, Bete had already ducked back into the room, causing Aisha to release a small laugh as she said, "I'll never truly understand what Lena sees in that boy...well, it isn't really my business..." As she spoke, Aisha leaned into Vahn and rested her head on his shoulder, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Vahn brought his hand up, stroking her long black hair as he said, "Thank you, Aisha...you and the other Amazonesses...well, I can imagine things would have gone much worse if you hadn't been present..." Though he wasn't sure what would follow in the next couple of hours, Vahn gently caressed Aisha's face and added, "I can't promise you my full attention, but I'm certain the girls wouldn't mind if you stayed with us tonight."
Since they would need to release their tensions, Vahn expected that he wouldn't be getting much sleep, even though he had yet to come up with a 'plan' to have Alexa and Tina stay elsewhere. Then again, Tina probably wouldn't want to be left out after fighting so hard and nearly getting injured by the Variant Juggernaut...realizing this, Vahn knew it was going to be a very chaotic evening. Aisha seemed to understand this as well, tracing her hand along his chest as she muttered, "Take care of those girls properly, Vahn...when you have time, just come visit me at the Amazoness compound..." Punctuating her words, Aisha tiptoed and gave Vahn a kiss, continuing even when a group of Adventurers ran through to go provide aid at another location...
When Aisha finally pulled away, or, more specifically, when Vahn let her pull away, she had a slight blush on her face and habitually licked her lips. With a somewhat regretful smile, she pushed against his chest and said, "I have to go help my people...stop by after you finish up at the ward. We have our own means for dealing with injuries, but I'm certain none of them will complain if you make an appearance...ufufufu~." Aisha ran her finger through the part of her bangs covering her right eye, producing a 'teasing' expression that didn't quite reach her eyes as she turned away, hips swaying with a natural seduction that was hard to pull your eyes from...
Vahn watched Aisha until she had turned a corner, following her lonely back instead of focusing on her rather plump and toned butt. He knew she actually wanted to stay with him for the evening but, being the representative of the Amazons within Lil Geirr, she had other duties to attend to. She had always been a very responsible and caring woman, even sacrificing her own happiness at times if it meant she could help others. Even when she had helped Haruhime in the past, to the point of being forced to become a prostitute, Aisha never made a single complaint. Vahn knew he should treat her better and, when he visited the Amazoness Compound later, intended to help her ease the burdens on her heart and mind...
While making his way to the medical ward, Vahn was nearly tackled to the ground by his daughter, Alexa, who buried her face into his chest and nuzzled against him. Vahn hugged her tightly, even as her wings flittered about excitedly and stroked the back of her head as he said, "You did very well, Alexa...I am proud of you..." This caused the young dragonling to smile radiantly before a strangely condescending look appeared in her eyes as she said, "That weakling actually tried to target people that Papa wanted to protect. I broke all of the bones in his arms and legs to teach him a lesson...!" Behind her, Maemi and Emiru had apologetic expressions on their faces as they bowed low and said, "Forgive us, Master, we didn't think an enemy would be able to get so close to Miss Alexa..."
Vahn just shook his head, mentally telling the girls he knew they did their best and that it wasn't their fault. This caused them to show gratified smiles as Vahn shifted Alexa to his back before asking, "Where is the prisoner being kept? I want to help out at the medical ward but I can go there first if he is in critical condition." The two girls looked at each other for a brief moment before shaking their heads in a perfect mirror as they said, "He seems to have very high vitality and Lady Chloe has him bound with her shadow for the time being. We don't think it will be a problem if you go to the medical ward first, Master..."
While the two were speaking, Vahn also got confirmation from Chloe, saying there were no chances of him escaping or even killing himself. Since most of the other girls were present, with only Lefiya and Lili going around to help the wounded, there shouldn't be any issues delaying things for a short while. It wasn't as if he intended to spend a lot of time at the ward as, even though it would be very painful, Vahn could heal the majority of injuries with [Wounds Transfer]. Since these were people who had trusted the Alliance with their protection, it was the least he could do to make amends for their failure to do so...
After arriving at the ward, Vahn entrusted Alexa to the twins and told her to behave as he began systematically healing everyone within. There were a few hundred people with moderate to severe injuries but, with Vahn's assistance, they were completely healed and would recover after a proper night's sleep. The staff and Adventurers that had been triaging and tending to the patients were extremely relieved when they saw Vahn show up, knowing their only job was to keep people stable until he got around to healing them. As a result, several people that would have had to retire from their careers, or spend exorbitant amounts of Valis for powerful medicines, were back to their default condition with only mental fatigue as their remaining symptom.
By the time he had finished, only six minutes of time had passed, causing the atmosphere within the war to become solemn and reverential. Those that had still be conscious during their treatments had tried to express their gratitude but they were urged to stay out of the way by the medical professionals so Vahn could continue treating others. When he healed the last patient, Vahn released a sigh of relief and rolled his shoulders without sticking around any longer. He made his way over to Alexa, Maemi, and Emiru, rubbing the twins' heads before picking up Alexa and leaving behind the still-silent ward. This silence persisted for several minutes after he departed, many still awed by the 'miracle' they had witnessed take place in a very short period of time...
Vahn made his way over to where the others were waiting, sending Emiru and Maemi to deliver a message to Finn before going to assist Lefiya and Lili. They hadn't been in the ward and had instead gone to the defensive line where a few people with minor injuries remained. Though the monsters hadn't been able to breach through the defenses, there were some who had embarrassingly injured themselves during the chaotic situation. These were mostly bumps and bruises, but there were a few who had also been injured during misfires of magic or from falling awkwardly off the tall walls...
Upon reaching the location where the man was kept bound, Vahn saw that Rufina was being consoled by Shakti as the two waited outside with Haruhime watching over them. Her ears perked up when she saw him, drawing the attention of the other two girls who looked over with slightly startled expressions. Rufina's quickly turned into an apologetic one as she stood up shakily and said, "Vahn...I'm sorry...I should have never come here...I..." As he had already set Alexa down, Vahn walked over to Rufina and gave her a firm hug, sending a 'flood' of calming energy into her body as he brought her face to rest in the nook of his neck and shoulder. At the same time, he stroked her back in a comforting manner, saying, "We must not blame ourselves for the actions of those that wish to bring harm to others...even if you weren't here, they would never stop trying to destroy the Alliance. If you're truly bothered by this outcome, just focus on becoming strong enough that, even if they came at you with ten times the forces, you would be able to divert them away with ease..."
Though she might not have been comforted by these words under normal circumstances, Rufina was stunned silly by how much 'comfort' she felt in Vahn's embrace. She had also witnessed the prowess of the other girls, especially when Alexa and Maemiru had torn about dozens of monsters in an instant. Alexa had even beaten the arrogant man who tried to force them to eat strange yellow magic cores, breaking all of his limbs and tossing him around like a broken doll. Even when she spent time playing with Vahn's children, Rufina had never seen people with such power before...now, after becoming Vahn's subordinate, Rufina knew it was possible for her to become much stronger, if she really wanted it...
Feeling Rufina begin to calm down, Vahn waited until her trembling stopped, giving her back one last comforting rub as he slowly pulled away and stared into her green eyes. He produced a small smile on his face, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers as he said, "You can become much stronger, Rufina...I believe in you..." This action and words caused Rufina's face to become red as she turned away in a huff and made her way back to Shakti's side without making eye contact with him again. Both Haruhime and Shakti laughed, causing Rufina's body to twitch as she hung her head, clearly embarrassed but still managing to say, "You have to help me...I'm...weaker than you think...I will need a lot of help..."
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bete is slowly learning...','Aisha is a good girl','Miracles...','There are a lot of Tsunderes this chapter...')
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Chapter 827: Questions
After leaving Alexa with the three girls outside, Vahn made his way into the room to meet the man that had made his way to the very top of Vahn's 'list'. Even if he had just targetted Rufina, Vahn wouldn't have been able to forgive the assailant, especially after so many people died. However, the fact that Alexa had also fallen into the scope of his plot had caused the 'calm' ocean within Vahn's body to begin boiling. His expression showed little emotion but there was a fierce light glowing within his pupils that even gods would shy away from...
Upon seeing a middle-aged man with white hair, forced to kneel on the ground with his joints bound by Chloe's shadow, Vahn took a deep breath through his nose and asked, "Who are you...?" His rationale told him that this man was another victim, just like Rufina, but Ryuu completely dashed this thought from his mind when she said in an icy tone, "Olivas Act, a former member of the Rudra Familia, one of the core Familia of the organization Evilus...he was supposed to have died nearly six years ago..." Being the person that 'wiped out' the Rudra Familia, Ryuu was very knowledgeable of all members, including those that had fled her net back when she purged them from Daedelus Street...
Olivas raised his head, showing a tired and crazed expression with his animalistic green eyes, similar to Rufina's from the past. After Vahn had turned her into a 'normal' human, Rufina's eyes had changed back into rounded pupils, a far cry from the snake-like eyes possessed by the cruel looking man kneeling before him. With Ryuu's words, however, Vahn was actually grateful that Olivas wasn't a 'true' victim and likely even followed Enyo of his own free will. This made what he intended to do weigh far less heavily on his mind as, without restraining himself much, Vahn punched Olivas in his smug face, nearly forcing him to swallow the gag in his mouth.
Chloe had already released her shadow restraints as Vahn lifted Olivas by his neck and slammed him into the reinforced wall of the room, cracking it in the process as the barrier protecting it shattered. At the same time, Vahn jammed his index and middle finger into Olivas diaphragm, chanting, "Spirits of Lightning, bring the retribution of Heaven upon my enemies~!" This was an unnamed spell that Vahn had created on the spot, sending millions of volts of electricity through Olivas' body, with a relatively low current. This caused the chaotic energy inside of his body to writhe about, trying to escape from his pores as the man seized and twitched about like a rat struck by lightning.
By the time Vahn had 'purged' all the malevolent energy within Olivas' body, the man's eyes had boiled over and melted while a large amount of steam emanated from his charred body. Vahn kept the smell from reaching the rest of the room by isolating it with his domain while communicating to the girls that they should leave if they didn't wish to see what was going to happen. Chloe and Arnya had already snatched up Shizune and Tina, removing them from the room, but everyone else stayed behind as a show of support. They knew Vahn wasn't 'normally' a cruel person and this was simply the result of Olivas' evil acts coming to a head...it was retribution.
Though his body was horribly mangled, Olivas still managed a smile as broken words tried to escape his lips, muttering, "You...will never...win...you...will all...die...! Go ahead...kill me...hahaha...hahahaha!" Vahn's response was to let Olivas drop to the ground, not worried that the man would try to attack since most of his nerves had been fried. Without any energy in his body, he was weaker than a normal Level 1 civilian, even if he wasn't severely injured. The only thing even keeping him alive right now was Vahn's understanding of Olivas' body and the resilience of a Creature...
Since Olivas had information that he needed, Vahn set up incense and manipulated the air currents to consolidate the potent aroma around Olivas' body. At the same time, even though he harbored no intention to alleviate the man's suffering, Vahn reached out his hand and placed it on Olivas' head. He began to lightly stroke, sending waves of petting energy directly into Olivas' mind as he tried to struggle and resist. Unfortunately for the sadistic and cruel man, there was nothing that could have possibly prepared him for the existence of 'petting energy', which could even tame gods, much less a Creature-Human hybrid...
After a few minutes, Olivas had become stock still, a confused and complacent expression on his face as Vahn asked, "What is your name...?" There was a slight delay but Olivas eventually said, "Olivas Act..." in a dull and lazy tone of voice. Vahn gave a small nod out of habit before asking, "Who sent you here...? What is your purpose...?" Though he already knew the partial answer to these questions, Vahn needed to 'verify' his assumptions. Fortunately, there were no real surprises as Olivas muttered, "I was sent by my goddess, Enyo-sama...my task was to remove the cancer on the 39th Floor...recover the apostate, Revis...and capture one of the companions of Vahn Mason..."
This was the first 'official' reveal of Enyo's name, turning this war into one where they now had an 'official' target, not just a name to go by. Vahn felt like the pieces were coming together and, very soon, he swore to make Enyo pay for the things she had done. Even if it was the compulsion of her Divinity, there were some things that simply couldn't be allowed to continue. Still, there were more things he wanted to know so he asked, "Where is Enyo...? What is her plan...? How many of you are there...?"
Olivas' body began to twitch slightly but Vahn sent another wave of energy through his mind before inserting a threat of Source Energy to create a protective membrane around the core in his chest. There were fluctuations present that caught Vahn's attention, almost like a signal was being sent to the core, likely as a means to force Olivas to silence. Though the 'signal' had already been sent, Vahn could stabilize the core for a short while, allowing Olivas to answer, "My goddess waits upon her altar...awaiting the day when she can return the world back to its true state...she will bring divine judgment upon those fools that have made this world their playground..."
Vahn squinted his eyes when he heard this, uncertain if Olivas was talking about gods or mortals, as she shouldn't have even been able to come to this world before the 'bridge' was created. This meant that her target shouldn't be the gods themselves, but the people that already resided in this world before her descent. Even that was something Vahn had many questions about, however, as Enyo was a goddess that none of the gods in the Alliance knew of. Though Vahn had found several records that should have connected Enyo to the gods of the northern pantheon, it was almost like her existence had been 'erased' from the minds of everyone...after all, gods that had lived for hundreds of millions of years would know every other god, especially those that descended to the mortal world...
After another long pause, Olivas continued, answering Vahn's other questions, "We are limitless...a legion that will wash over the world and return it back to its primal state...you fools have no idea what kind of monsters have been sleeping beneath your feet...!" Though he was still in a sedated state, Olivas managed to crack a crazed smile, an eerie laugh escaping his throat before he practically shouted, "You don't even know the enemies in your midst...! Hahahahahahahaha~!"
Suddenly, Olivas' hollowed eyes glowed like flaming embers as his skin began to crack and fracture, wispy flames emerging from within. Vahn's brows furrowed and he fully converged his domain, keeping the energy within Olivas' body at bay as he asked, "What Floor is Enyo on!? Who are the ones supporting your goddess!? Tell me there names...!" Instead of Olivas answering, his head twisted nearly 180 degrees in an instant, strange eyes peering up at Vahn's face as a very different voice escaped through his lips, "Vahn Mason...so this is what you look like...ufufufu~."
The core inside of Olivas' chest began to radiate with a powerful energy that crashed against the source energy membrane and caused what appeared to be a divine power to shroud his body. Even so, Vahn continued to repress this energy with his own domain, causing the person controlling Olivas to laugh in a deranged manner before 'she' shouted, "Ah, you're so perfect...! I can't wait to make you mine~! Come to me, Vahn Mason, I'm waiting for you on the 60th Floor! Ahahahahaha~!" As 'she' spoke, the person who Vahn suspected to be Enyo extended Olivas' hand towards Ais and said, "My darling Aria...you should come along as well...I can't wait to meet you both~."
Though she said this, a black blade appeared out of Olivas' palm and tried to shoot forward but Vahn had already pinned it to the ground, crushing Olivas' arm in the process. This caused the ghostly green eyes to turn back to him, a smile spreading further across the possessed Olivas' face before the core in his chest shattered completely. Moments later, his body turned into yellow, black, and purple dust before the divine energy dissipated into nothingness. The only remnants showing that Olivas had ever existed was a tribal outfit that was comprised of the hides and bones of monsters...
For several seconds, Vahn processed what had just happened before turning his attention back to Ais, seeing the conflict and confusion on her face as she said, "I thought Enyo had something to do with my mother...why does she think I'm her...?" To this, nobody had an answer but it didn't stop Vahn from walking over and giving Ais a warm hug as he said, "We will find the answers together..." He was very annoyed that his 'interrogation' had only created more questions, providing no real answers, even though Olivas should have been in a very receptive and mentally lax state. Vahn had seriously underestimated the man's madness and hadn't expected Enyo to have a remote means of controlling people...
At the very least, Vahn was able to learn that the strange yellow monster cores were directly related to Enyo and seemed to be a forced evolution using her own Divinity as a source. Since Enyo should just be a goddess with a Divinity related to War, Vahn knew there was something very wrong with the current situation. Just the fact that most of the mutated monsters were plant-based showed that there was more to things than meets the eye, especially with Olivas mentioning 'enemies in their midst'. Though it wasn't surprising to know that Enyo's forces had infiltrated part of the Alliance, Vahn felt like Olivas was implying that there was an enemy much closer to him than he realized.
Given how 'mad' Olivas seemed, Vahn assumed the man was just trying to sow doubt within the minds of those that were present, especially since he hadn't answered any of the questions asked of him in a direct manner. Vahn knew it was impossible for Enyo's forces to truly be 'infinite' and, even though he had asked about Enyo's location, Olivas had managed to keep it secret, merely describing the location without giving any actual details. It seemed that, even though he was in a mental state where he shouldn't have been able to lie, Olivas' 'beliefs' had caused him to protect the important information about his goddess and their purpose...
Shaking his head to clear stray thoughts, Vahn gave Ais one more strong hug before releasing her body so he could address the others. Even so, he stayed at her side and held hands with the slightly shaken girl as he said, "The only information we should consider is that Enyo may be located on the 60th Floor. Everything else should be treated as information that was meant to deceive and sow doubt within the minds of everyone present. Unfortunately for them, our unity is not something that can be shaken by such devious methods...hmph...!" Enyo had no way of knowing that the girls had already spent years with each other, with some of their relationships lasting well over a decade. If she thinks such insignificant revelations would have any meaningful effect, she was as crazy as Olivas seemed to be...
Ais squeezed Vahn's hand when she heard this, a small smile spreading across her face as the light that had started to fade from her eyes now doubled in intensity. She had even prepared herself for the fact that her mother may have been 'consumed' by the Dungeon, one of the nightmarish rumors that were often spread amongst female Adventurers, so this revelation was far less difficult to deal with. Unless Enyo was just trying to deceive her, it meant that her mother may not be associated with the Dungeon and could even still be alive somewhere. She was determined to seek out the truth with Vahn, defeat the One-Eyed Black Dragon's avatar, and one day conquer the entire Dungeon if it was necessary. After that, she would have a happy family with the boy she loved, irrespective of what had happened in the past that was no longer within her control...
Vahn was surprised by the fact that Ais' (Love) had jumped up several thousand points in an instant but his expression remained calm as each of the girls also made their resolutions known. Tiona and Tione showed direct support for Ais, being the two that had known her the longest, while Ryuu swore that she was root out all of Enyo's forces, especially since she seemed to have an association with Evilus. Arnya and Chloe supported Ryuu's conviction and promised to help her seek justice for all the innocents who had died as a result of Enyo's, and Evilus' schemes. This left Mikoto standing somewhat awkwardly at the side and, perhaps embarrassed to see how fired up everyone else was getting, she also 'pledged' her blade to the elimination of Enyo's forces and the remnant of Evilus...
Following the first round of everyone bolstering each others motivation, showing the exact unity that made them strong, the girls waiting in the hall were brought into the strange atmosphere as Lefiya, Lili, Maemi, and Emiru came in a few minutes later. Now, compared to how tense things had been before, the mood had become much more vibrant as everyone showed support for each other. Even Rufina and Shakti were included in the group's unification speech, to the point that they had nearly been dragged into the 'nightly activities' by Haruhime and Tiona. Fortunately, Vahn had caught them in the act and managed to gently chide the two, having them watch over Alexa and Tina alongside Shakti and Rufina. Vahn did, however, promise to spend some time with all five girls later, just not while Alexa was present within the group...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Shocking~!','Shit went from 0 to 100 real fast (o____o)...','And back down to a moderate 10 a few moments later...RIP Haruhime and Tiona xD...')
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200+ Power
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348 Power
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