Chapter 2125: Pleasant Surprise
Though there were a number of expert marksmen participating in the Shooting Competition, none were able to compete against Seraphina. She might not have been particularly accurate when Vahn first met her, but, after a thousand years of practice, she could even snipe an enemy commander on a command deck hundreds of kilometers away with relative precision.
Since it was a competition that took into account the existence of Demigods, Demihumans, and people with Divine Blessings, the difficulty of events increased without limit until a final winner was decided. By the end of the Shooting Competition, Seraphina was dinging targets moving around at hypersonic speeds. Only a single other contestant, a descendant of Hou Yi himself, had managed to keep up with her. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions placed on Gift usage, the youthful-looking Chinese girl eventually hit a wall due to being Tier 3 while Seraphina was pushing the pinnacle of Tier 4.
If Vahn had been in Seraphina's shoes, not that she was wearing any, he might have let the earnest young marksmen win. Unfortunately for her, Seraphina's entire reason for participating in the event was to show off. Thus, the moment her victory was assured, she began showboating and posing as much as possible while dinging every target as if her bullets were magnetic. This caused a number of people to think she was cheating, but, thanks to Black Rabbit serving as Judge Master, none of them were brave enough to come forward with their allegations...
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"Yahoooo~! Did you see my performance~?"
Since Vahn's event wasn't until much later in the day, Seraphina was able to track him down after giving a short interview about how great she was. The presence of Fenrir and Usalia slightly irked her, but, without losing her smile, she shamelessly walked over and straddled Vahn's lap without changing out of her bikini.
Though she squinted her eyes in response to Seraphina's behavior, Fenrir didn't say anything as she was currently too weak to punish the pink-haired Demoness. She would probably emerge the victor in a life and death battle but that was a moot point considering she would never kill the women her Master was fond of.
Fortunately for Fenrir and Usalia both, Vahn reacted to Seraphina's selfish display by giving her pert and bubbly butt a firm smack. This caused her body to jump, back straightening as a surprised yelp emanating from her throat. When he removed his hand, a very prominent red mark could be seen on her previously unblemished, perfectly white bottom.
"Hey! What's the big idea...!?"
Were it not for the presence of Fenrir and Usalia, Seraphina wouldn't have been bothered by the fact Vahn had spanked her. Rather, she was quite fond of being 'disciplined' when they were alone together.
Giving her opposite cheek a much lighter smack, Vahn maintained a relaxed yet no-nonsense look on his face as he firmly stated, "You know better than to antagonize the others. You also know I give you a lot of special treatment. I don't appreciate you stepping in and behaving selfishly like this..."
Though she adopted a rather prominent pout, Seraphina didn't attempt to refute Vahn's words. She might be selfish but she knew when she was in the wrong. Vahn was also massaging away the pain in her bottom so she merely harumphed before looking between Fenrir and Usalia, saying, "Sorry..." in a pouty yet sincere tone.
Since her Master had already meted out punishment, Fenrir's resentment had largely dissipated as she replied, "It's okay. Just don't do it again. Master might tolerate bad girls but he is most fond of those who make an effort to be good. You might be a Demon and a Succubus but you can still be a good girl if you do your best."
Offering a wry smile in response to Fenrir's usual ministrations, Seraphina briefly shifted her gaze to Usalia. The latter simply shrugged at her, so, now that both girls had accepted her apology, she met Vahn's gaze, her demeanor changing completely as she seductively purred, "When can I expect my reward~?"
Restraining the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn matched Seraphina's gaze with a smoldering leer as he answered, "That depends...Fenrir and Usalia may have forgiven you but a single smack isn't much of a punishment. I'm thinking of using this as an opportunity to help the three of you grow closer..."
Furrowing her brows, Seraphina was going to refuse until Vahn's index and middle fingers pressed into a sensitive spot near the base of her spine. This caused a sonorous moan to escape her throat as her tail and wings promptly unfurled from her body. This was foul play on Vahn's part, but, now that her switch was flipped, Seraphina didn't care if she had to share. Her body craved the pleasure Vahn was capable of carving into her literal soul and there was no way in hell she was going to miss out on the opportunity to experience it...
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With the combat events scheduled to take place over a three-day period, it was late afternoon by the time Vahn's turn came up. He was going to be participating in the Pankration, and, as could be expected, the people who had gathered for the event were among the most powerful in the 5-6-Digit Gates. This included people like Sigurd, who, ever since his Community's defeat during the previous Gift Game, had turned over a new leaf.
Seeing Vahn among the contestants, a massive grin appeared on Sigurd's face as he walked over, hand raised as he said, "Yo! Long time no see! How've you been, man?"
Returning a casual wave of his own, a smile developed across Vahn's face as he replied, "Not bad. How about you? I've heard quite a number of rumors regarding Leviathan's Tail these past couple of months..."
Scratching the back of his head, Sigurd's expression became somewhat awkward. Despite that, the smile never left his face as he answered, "Yeah...I'm guessing I have you to thank for that? Whatever you did to my body seems to have increased my virility and removed the restriction preventing me from siring offspring with Gyda and Ragna. At this point, they're both around 7 weeks pregnant..."
Though he now knew that Gyda and Ragna were Sigurd's blood-related siblings, Vahn wasn't going to judge the trio for their actions. Love could be pretty indiscriminate at times, and, based on what he learned after the fact, it was pretty obvious the three were committed to their relationship. They were willing to run away from home and even threw their lot in with Demons. Gyda seemed like she was on the fence for a while but that changed pretty quickly after Sigurd's bloodline purification.
Patting the man's shoulder, Vahn maintained a genial smile as he said, "Don't worry about it. After you transformed into a demon, your genetics were irreversibly changed. When I purified your body, you basically became a completely different person. If anyone gives you trouble about Gyda's and Ragnar's pregnancies, make sure to contact me. I'm not going to fight your battles for you but I'm more than willing to give anyone willing to target expectant mothers a piece of my mind..."
Returning a sincerely grateful smile, Sigurd nearly clapped Vahn on the shoulders before deciding against it. He doubted he would be able to hurt the humanoid dragon but there was quite a big difference in their height. If by some miracle he was able to send Vahn stumbling, no amount of apologizing would be able to suffice.
"Thanks...I appreciate it more than words can ever express..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn surprised Sigurd by saying, "Then don't use words. Show me through your actions that I wasn't wrong when I spared your life. If I later discover you were a terrible father, don't expect any mercy."
Though his words were said in a casual, ostensibly joking tone, the look in Vahn's eyes made it very clear he wasn't fooling around. His views on fatherhood had been shaped by the expectations he had for himself. He understood others couldn't be held to the same standards he had for himself but he would be damned if he allowed someone he spared to mistreat or exploit their children.
Despite feeling a powerful shudder run through his body, Sigurd was genuinely grateful for Vahn's words. He was the type that excelled under pressure, so, while he wasn't sure he was qualified to be a father, he was determined to do his best. Now that he knew Vahn was going to be keeping an eye on him, he actually felt relieved. Thus, after quickly recovering from his jitters, a guffaw comparable to a dragon's roar emanated from his throat...
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Staring at his opponent, an aged gentleman with spiky white hair, a handlebar mustache, and fashionable facial hair, Vahn couldn't help smiling. It was clear from the man's masterfully sculpted figure he had honed his skills through actual combat. There were even scars covering much of his body, and, while there were a number of exit wounds on his back, it was possible to intuit he had never taken a blow from behind.
"You remind me of a good friend of mine. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of."
Returning a fierce yet grandfatherly smile, the inordinately burly man, Ziros, answered, "Truth be told, I was looking forward to facing you in the finals. I never expected our bout would take place in the first series of rounds. I almost feel sorry for the young men scheduled to fight after us..."
To punctuate his words, Ziros adopted a loose stance that somewhat gave off the impression it was more stable than a mountain. He had his right hand loosely clenched near his hip, his left open near his chin, and his feet spread apart in an ostensibly casual manner despite leaving no visible openings.
As it had been years since he had an actual form, Vahn just leaned forward slightly with his hands barely raised from his sides. From the perspective of the crowd, it was a completely unremarkable stance, but, from the perspective of Ziros, it was almost as though Vahn had just placed his hands on the grips of two unfathomably sharp katanas.
"Hoooo..."
Undaunted, Ziros responded to Vahn's stance by charging forward with such speed that his fist had impacted the latter's guard in an instant. Then, while his punch seemingly did no damage at all, the space where he had been standing erupted from the force of his movement.
Raising his brows, Vahn was slightly surprised to see the flow of time stagnate to such an extreme degree. Ziros was much faster than he expected, and, had he not personally confirmed each of the participating Communities, he would have assumed the man was a War God from the 4-Digit Gates.
"Not bad at all..."
Seeing his fist deflected to the side by Vahn's open palm, Ziros's eyes widened as he immediately shifted his momentum into a fierce roundhouse kick that created a visible black trail through the surrounding space. The force behind his blows was enough to distort space and time, yet, as if it didn't matter in the slightest, Vahn just leaned his head back before reaching up to touch his ankle in an instant.
With a far more serious expression on his face, Ziros created a bit of distance as he shouted, "Very good...!" before throwing a punch coated in silvery-white energy. When it was released, a pillar of similarly colored light impacted the area where Vahn had been standing. It tore into the ground as if it didn't exist, and, when the light began to fade, everything around Vahn had been 'erased' from existence. Unfortunately, Vahn, everything immediately below, and everything behind him remained unaffected.
"The Law of Erasure? Well, this just got interesting..."
Hearing Vahn's remark, Ziros's eyes widened to an almost comical extent as he never expected his greatest secret to be discovered after a single exchange. Immediately thereafter, however, the tell-tale smile of a battle junky developed across his face as four metallic arms erupted from his body...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: '*SMACK*','Vahn can be such a bro at times...','TFW the favorites end up fighting in the first round xD...')
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Chapter 2126: Power : Purpose
Seeing his opponent sprout additional limbs despite the restriction preventing the usage of Gifts, a look of understanding developed across Vahn's face. At that exact same time, however, a silvery fist appeared less than a centimeter away from the tip of his nose.
"Mmm..."
Instead of dodging, Vahn allowed his body to become immaterial. This would have caught others by surprise, but, demonstrating he was no mere martial artist, Ziros's body faded into silvery-white light as another version of himself appeared from a completely different angle, this time sweeping a reality-bending kick towards Vahn's chest.
"Causality Manipulation...?"
With his attention fully focused on the fight, Ziros had no intention of responding to the words that appeared directly within his mind. He was determined to measure Vahn's strength and ascertain the limits of his power. Thus, the moment his foot reached the apparent center of Vahn's being, an explosion of destructive silvery energy spread through the interior of the arena without impacting the surrounding barrier.
Understanding that Vahn wasn't going to be defeated by a simple kick, Ziros immediately put up his guard as he attempted to create some distance. What he never expected, at least this early on, was for Vahn to appear right next to him, adding, "I'm not so bad at it myself."
Sweeping one of his metallic hands in Vahn's direction, a blade of light emitted from its palm as several condensed spheres of energy gathered in each of Ziros's other hands.
Demonstrating he wasn't just making arbitrary claims, Vahn watched as Ziros's attack sliced through empty space. Every attack, no matter how powerful or precise, had a possibility of missing its target. There was even a possibility that a perfectly normal apple could phase through a person's hand just as they were biting into it. By grasping hold of these probabilities and manipulating the flow of fate around them, it was possible to sway even astronomical odds in your favor.
Seeing his attack miss despite the fact Vahn didn't even dodge, Ziros's eyes sharpened as he fired off the energy in his hands in seemingly random directions. At the same time, runic armor began to spread from his shoulders to his chest, gradually encompassing his upper body in the same silvery substance that comprised his additional arms.
While others might accuse Ziros of cheating, Vahn knew this was the man's natural ability, not a Gift. It was similar to how the people in One Piece could use Armament Haki. He was also enjoying himself for the first time in quite a while so he, sure as hell, wasn't going to stop the fight.
Noticing the beams fired by Ziros entering small tears in space-time before promptly reemerging in his blind spots, a smile developed across Vahn's face as his body appeared to 'glitch'. Then, just as Ziros manifested six blades from each of his hands, literal flames manifesting in his once azure blue eyes, Vahn flickered forward, saying, "Your offense is incredible. Let's see if your defense matches."
Punctuating his words, Vahn threw what appeared to be a normal punch. This confused the crowd quite a bit, as, ever since the fight started, very few could follow it with their eyes. Despite this, even the children amongst the crowd could see Vahn's punch. Almost as if the world itself had slowed to allow it...
Seeing Vahn's punch coming toward him, Ziros, for the first time in his life, regretted trying one of his finishing moves. His arms were currently spread wide, and, no matter how much he strained the muscles in his body, he knew he wouldn't be able to put up his guard before Vahn's fist connected. Even then, it might not help, as, for the briefest of moments, Vahn's fist had seemingly become the very center of creation...
As that thought crossed his mind, Ziros felt as though the world beneath him had fallen away. He had been in the air, but, even then, his orientation towards the ground remained the same thanks to the Little Garden's Primary Axis. Now, in the face of Vahn's fist, it was like the only two things in existence were the seemingly innocuous punch and his body about to be hit...
"Not bad, kid..."
Though he was barely able to move his body, that didn't prevent a rather demonic-looking eye from opening in the center of Ziros's forehead. The iris glowed with a fierce indigo light while the sclera around it emitted an eerie black glow. At the same time, beads of crimson blood began to build near the bottom of the vertical slit, almost as if his forehead had been cut open to allow for the eye to reveal itself.
While most people weren't able to see these changes, Vahn's eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw visible cracks extending from his hand and crawling up his arm. He could feel the momentum and power in his fist inverting, and, the closer his fist came to Ziros's chest, the larger the cracks on his arm became. This might have terrified someone else. As for Vahn, he just smiled even as his fist and forearm erupted in a thunderous explosion that made the spectators feel as though the world was coming to an end...
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Seeing the devastation wrought by the exchange between Vahn and Ziros, a purple-skinned man with an impeccable physique, flawless facial features, intelligent amethyst eyes, and a mane of dark-purple hair that flowed away from his scalp like flames couldn't help frowning.
Unlike most of the people viewing the Vahnatus, this particular man had only taken an interest after learning that his former mentor was participating. He had even gathered some of his closest friends so they could all witness the defeat of the Pure-Blooded Dragon that had been gaining influence in the East. Instead, they were treated to the scene of Vahn casually deflecting strikes that would send lesser Gods to their graves...
"I now understand why our predecessor decided to participate in this farce of a competition. He is showing us the danger Vahn Aldrnari Mason represents. If we're to oppose him, we'll need to stand united. The Divine Army cannot keep fighting amongst itself."
Though none of the people present disagreed with the man's statement, the most senior among them, a rather plump man with faded golden skin covered in runes, remarked, "Lord Shiva's wisdom is unmatched in this matter. However, what can we do? Ever since the previous war nearly wiped us out, the Divine Army has become fractured. The only person with the authority to command us is currently being sheltered by the White Night Demon, and, according to numerous sources, she is romantically involved with that upstart dragon."
Furrowing his brows, Shiva, the Great God of Destruction, cursed, "Shiroyasha...that devious and licentious woman. This is clearly one of her schemes. The only question is, what is her aim? Is she looking for revenge...?"
Shaking that thought from his mind, Shiva cast his penetrating gaze over the five men staring back at him, saying, "It doesn't matter what that scheming demoness is plotting. I will use my authority as a Grand General to convene a meeting with Perun, Odin, Zeus, Amaterasu, Marduk, Osiris, Pangu, and Yehowah. Even if they refuse to cooperate, we would be fools not to lay a foundation for future cooperation..."
Though his former mentor had given up his Divinity after the war, Shiva knew exactly how powerful Ziros was. The force from his blows was strong enough to make distant stars tremble. When he got serious, even Chief Deities would be forced to bend a knee if they allowed their arrogance to blind them. His raw power was only rivaled by True Asura, a mindless being with such phenomenal might that he needed to be sealed away to prevent the Little Garden's destruction.
"Asura..."
Hearing their Lord mutter a name that was all but forbidden within the Divine realm, beads of sweat began to form on the heads of everyone present. Fortunately, Shiva was simply reminiscing his past incarnation's encounter with the seemingly unstoppable demon. He wasn't crazy enough to unleash one of their ultimate weapons just because Vahn 'might' become a threat. That would be like using a volcanic eruption to smother a campfire before it could potentially spread to the forest. Asura was a beast of pure destruction. Unleashing him had, and always would be, their last resort...
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Ignoring the fact that his arm now resembled a crystal that had been shattered beneath the elbow, Vahn looked around at the chaotic energy swirling around him with a smile. The collision between his fist and Ziros's chest had effectively destroyed the surrounding space, but, instead of collapsing in on itself, the Source Energy released from his fist had effectively formed a bubble of non-existent space where the only things that existed were himself, Ziros, and endless possibilities.
"You're pretty tough. The number of people who have survived one of my full-powered blows can be counted on one hand. Quite literally in this case."
Holding up a single finger, Vahn made it clear that Ziros was, in fact, the only person to survive one of his full-powered blows. Sure, he might not have taken it directly, but most people couldn't even hope to reflect one of his blows, much less survive a blast powered by Source...
Hearing Vahn's words, a gruff laugh emanated from Ziros's throat in spite of the fact he was now blind, deaf, bereft of five arms, and nursing a rather sizeable crater in his chest. The only reason he even knew Vahn was speaking was because the eye at the center of his forehead was the source of the reflection, and, as a result, it had emerged unscathed.
"It would appear...I may have...underestimated you..."
Nodding his head, Vahn began to willfully mend the fabric of space and time as he replied, "Don't take it to heart. Even when I openly display my power, there are always people who think it's some kind of trick. Not that I blame them. You see, my power is so far beyond comprehension that there are times when even I can't wrap my head around it..."
Recalling the various 'accidents' he had contributed to in the past, a wry and slightly melancholic smile developed across Vahn's face. There had yet to be a single enemy that could stand against him, yet, even now, he still had a long way to go if he wanted to reach the pinnacle of creation.
Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn sent a haze of green energy towards Ziros's body, rapidly accelerating his healing factor. This was the only thing he could do for him as the matter that had once comprised the man's limbs had effectively been erased from existence. Even if the literal God of Time was here, they wouldn't be able to restore Ziros's body to its previous state.
Fortunately, like most beings around the pinnacle of Tier 4, Ziros's physical body wasn't the core of his being. Under certain conditions, he could even survive the complete destruction of his physical form, so, even if Vahn had left him unattended, he would eventually recover. It would just cost him a tremendous amount of Spiritual Energy...
Seeing his limbs grow back in mere moments, a contemplative glimmer flashed across Ziros's eyes as he looked toward Vahn and asked, "What is your purpose...?"
Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a genial smile as he said, "Purpose is something that constantly shifts from one moment to the next. Those who are bound by a fixed purpose end up becoming monsters who justify their every action as if it were guided by providence. I choose to be free. As for my goal...I just want to be with my family. It's as simple as that."
Punctuating his words, Vahn extended his hand out before clasping it into a fist. This caused the 'bubble of potential' around them to immediately contract. As a result, both he and Ziros found themselves hoving in the air above the arena. More specifically, the hole where the arena used to be...
"S-Since there is no longer an arena to return to, both contestants are judged to be out of bounds! B-By my authority as Judge Master, I declare that Vahn Aldrnari Mason and Ziros Ishana have been disqualified from the competition...!"
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn has entered his ultimate form...Flex Mode...!','Anton Chekhov be like, "Naruhodo..."','*wheezing* xD...')
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paypal.me/Einlion
Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
75 Power
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