Capítulo 1937: Loose Ends
Following his meeting with Jahad, Vahn only had two small matters to attend to before departing the Hidden Floor. This included transplanting Data Eduan's Ego, and, most importantly, fulfilling his promise to delete the data of Ureko's Sworn Enemy.
Under normal circumstances, a person's Sworn Enemy would vanish the moment the person they were linked to departed the Hidden Floor. In Ureko's case, however, she had been so upset by the fact that the Mirror at the End couldn't record her character data that she ended up destroying it with a punch. This resulted in the near destruction of the Hidden Floor, and, as a result, her Sworn Enemy persisted even after her departure.
Since Ureko couldn't be bothered to wait around a year just to enter the Hidden Floor a second time, she decided to leave behind her Sworn Enemy as a test of sorts for people she had taken an interest in. Vahn was well aware of this fact, so, once everything else was taken care of, he used the mirror provided to him by Jahad to enter the space between the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors. This was a region known as the Bug Room, and, had he discovered it sooner, Vahn would have been able to use it to freely trespass both floors at his leisure.
Due to its unique structure, the Bug Room was almost impossible to access for anyone who didn't possess a 'real' body. This meant it was inaccessible to Data Humans such as Data Jahad, but, more importantly, it could be used as a thoroughfare for outsiders seeking to interfere with the Hidden Floors.
In the past, King Jahad had used the space that eventually became the foundation of the Bug Room to make contact with his data self and create the Hidden Hidden Floor. The failsafes installed by the Workshop made it nigh-impossible for even someone at his level to interfere with the Hidden Floor from the outside, so, with no other options available to him, he could only bait his data self into an environment where he had greater control. This was the true reason for the creation of the Hidden Hidden Floor, and, had things gone according to plan, Jahad would have been able to destroy both once the prophesied time had come.
Now, the intervening space between the two Hidden Floors had become little more than a trash bin for data that could not be deleted through conventional means. It was also the place where Hwang had been spending most of his time while conspiring to betray Jahad and escape the Hidden Floor. Part of this plan included using the Ureko's Sworn Enemy to destroy the Mirror of the Past, but, with the original mirror being located in the real world, the only thing this would have accomplished was triggering the trap left behind by the real Jahad.
Fortunately, things had never developed to that point, so, after roaming the labyrinth-like halls with the Law of Identity acting as his guide, Vahn eventually chanced upon the room containing Ureko's Sworn Enemy.
Sensing the presence of a foreign smell, Ureko's nose twitched a few times before she paused her game console and half-turned to glance over her shoulder. This allowed Vahn to see the massive scar-like birthmark covering her right eye, but, more surprising than this was the fact that Ureko's Sworn Enemy looked like a much younger version of herself...
Resembling a boyish young girl between the ages of 12-14, Ureko's Sworn Enemy gave off the impression of a bratty middle-schooler who liked to get into fights. She was even wearing a leather jacket with her name stitched on the back, and, rather than the shorts preferred by her real-world counterpart, she was tattered, form-fitting, jeans with numerous holes cut in them.
At the same time that Vahn was inspecting her, S.E. Ureko was returning the favor with her rather scary-looking red eyes. She gave off the impression of a far more unhinged version of the actual Ureko, and, though her aura was remarkably docile, her expression was reminiscent of a deranged killer that had just found a new victim. Were it not for the persistent error messages blinking in and out of existence around her, she would have cut quite the intimidating figure despite her diminutive frame.
Setting down her controller, S.E. Ureko lazily rose to her feet before dusting off her backside and asking, "Did the real me send you? I can smell her scent all over you. She must think pretty highly of you to mark you in such a thorough manner..."
Fully aware of what S.E. Ureko was talking about, Vahn's smile became wry as he remarked, "Yeah...it certainly seems that way..."
Smiling in a manner that resembled baring her fangs, S.E. Ureko began to roll her right arm as if she was warming up the throw a punch. This left Vahn feeling helpless, as, despite yearning for her own deletion, it seemed that Ureko's Sworn Enemy didn't mind evaluating him on behalf of her true self. In her mind, it must have been infinitely better than going down without a fight, so, after finishing a few light stretches, a tremendous aura spontaneously erupted from her body as she vanished from view.
Though he could have ended the battle one-sidedly, much as he had done with Jahad, Vahn felt he owed it to Ureko to put her Sworn Enemy down with dignity. Thus, rather than relying on the many exploits he had recently developed, he decided to receive her telephone punch while matching her strength as best he could. This caused a massive shockwave to tear through the Bug Room, and, as a result, streams of data and quite a number of errors appeared as even the space around them was destroyed.
Grinning like a madwoman in response to Vahn catching her fist with his bare hand, S.E. Ureko took advantage of her small size and ridiculous flexibility to send a kick towards his head reminiscent of a reaper's scythe. This attack was exponentially faster than her telegraphed punch, and, as a result of exceeding the speed of light without manipulating space-time, her foot released a phenomenal amount of golden light as it smashed into his guard with enough force to instantaneously vaporize a small island.
Emerging from within the golden plume, S.E. Ureko licked away the trail of blood trickling from her lips as her right leg, momentarily missing from the knee down, rapidly regenerated using the same golden light produced during her attack. She was effectively infusing her cells with Light Elemental Energy, and, though the effect was incomparable to the Magia Erebea, Vahn suspected this was due to the Hidden Floor's inability to faithfully replicate abilities beyond the limitations of the system...
Waving his hand to the side, Vahn dispersed the remnants of the golden plume to reveal that he was completely unharmed. This caused S.E. Ureko's smile to become even more prominent, her teeth appearing slightly sharper than before as she excitedly exclaimed, "Hell! You ain't bad at all!"
Immediately following this outburst, S.E. Ureko's body began to emit a radiant golden aura as she ascended higher into the sky. Then, after crossing her feet and spreading out her arms in a manner reminiscent of someone bound to a crucifix, she descended towards him like a spinning ax loosed at the speed of light. This made it appear as though she were going to perform an ax kick, but, just as she was about to impact his guard, she spontaneously arrested her momentum to land feet first against his forearm.
Just as Vahn was thinking about what she was going to do, the aura around Ureko's body vanished as the bottoms of her exposed feet began releasing a far more intense golden light. Then, showing a complete disregard for her own body, strange cracks formed along her legs as a massive pillar of light enveloped his body. The intensity of this light was so great that, for a brief moment, Vahn felt as though it has pervaded every cell in his body as his defenses utterly collapsed under its might. It was like being hit by the energy discharge of a quasar, and, were it not for the fact they were in a virtual space of functionally infinite size, it wasn't difficult to imagine such an attack annihilating all life within a Floor.
In the wake of her own attack, everything beneath S.E. Ureko's navel had been completely erased along with her left arm. The number of errors around her body had also increased exponentially, but, without paying them any mind, she allowed her body to regenerate while looking around the area for any traces of her would-be suitor.
Seeing nothing but destabilized space for as far as the eye could see, S.E. Ureko was beginning to feel greatly disappointed until Vahn, having manifested out of thin air behind her, made a show of clearing his throat before saying, "You should probably fix your clothes..."
With everything but the upper half of her jacket destroyed, S.E. Ureko was completely exposed from below her ribs to the soles of her feet. Despite this, she showed no indications of embarrassment or bashfulness. Instead, she waggled her butt towards him, saying, "Get used to it, lover boy. If you are the man my true self has chosen, you'll need to get over that cherry boy mentality of yours sooner rather than later. If seeing a woman's naked body bothers you so, you're going to have a hard time in the future."
Deadpanning in response to S.E. Ureko's remarkably ignorant remark, Vahn fought hard to resist the urge to give her a spanking before explaining to her just how many women he was involved with. His instincts told him that if he were to spank her, the real Ureko would somehow find out about it, and, as a result, he would bound to receive a rather severe spanking of his own. She was tens of thousands of years his senior in regards to being a Tier 5 entity, so, while he wouldn't go down without a fight, it was difficult to imagine defeating her at his current level.
Fortunately, S.E. Ureko couldn't even qualify as a shadow of her true self, so, after recovering from his momentary stupor, Vahn promptly decided it was his turn to attack. This caught the half-naked blonde by surprise, as, unlike her own movements, there were no signs forecasting he was about to attack. It was a completely seamless transition without any wasted movements, and, as a result, she found herself being sent flying before her brain had even processed the change in his expression.
Generating wings of light that helped to stabilize her tumbling form, S.E. Ureko released a massive explosion reminiscent of a supernova as she clutched her head in an attempt to stop her brain from bouncing around in her skull. She felt like her head had been rung like a bell, and, though she was able to remain upright, it felt like she was spinning around uncontrollably due to the cochlea in her ears vibrating.
Though he had been hit by S.E. Ureko's sudden release of energy, Vahn had little trouble breaking through it to stand right in front of the disoriented half-dragoness. Then, before she could react to his presence, he extended his hand to caress the top of her head. This helped to alleviate her head trauma, but, more importantly, it allowed him to clothe her in a nigh-indestructible [Aegis Mk XIV].
Demonstrating considerable confusion, S.E. Ureko opened her eyes to briefly inspect the state of her body before looking up at Vahn and asking, "Do you have any idea how many people would die for a chance to see me naked?"
Without retracting his hand from the disgruntled girl's head, Vahn casually replied, "I've seen the real you naked quite a number of times. At this point, it's actually harder to get her to wear clothes than take them off. Don't get me wrong, you're certainly very cute, but I'd rather we treat this fight seriously. This is your last battle. Do you really want to spend your final moments messing around?"
Detecting no falsehoods in Vahn's words, S.E. Ureko blinked several times, her expression showing considerable confusion as she questioned, "You've seen the real me naked and are still alive? Who, no, what the hell are you...?"
Though he didn't expect her to want to sit down and talk, Vahn decided to humor S.E. Ureko by revealing the Tower's function and explaining the realms that lay beyond. He also revealed a few things about Phantaminum, and, once everything else was touched upon, they briefly discussed his relationship with her true self. This last part caused her to burst out laughing, but, considering the smile didn't fully reach her eyes, it was pretty obvious she was shaken by the prior revelations.
With their conversation lasting the better part of two hours, Vahn nearly allowed himself to believe that S.E. Ureko would no longer want to battle. Instead, his words seemed to rile her up even more. As a result, they ended up fighting until mere moments before his forceful ejection from the Hidden Floor. This was her attempt to pull out as much of his power as possible, not because she wanted to enjoy the fight, but because she wanted him to progress even a little more before his reunion with her true self. After all, based on the things he had told her, it wouldn't be long before the real Ureko came seeking him out with the intention of claiming her prize...one way or another...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Ureko got that gamer rage on lock...','*waggling intensifies*','Ureko is the real final boss...')
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Capítulo 1938: Temptation
Emerging from the Hidden Floor, Vahn had to take a moment to collect himself as it felt like years had passed since the last time he was on the Hell Train. This wasn't an exaggeration either, and, if he combined the time spent within his Realm, the Little Garden, and various Actualized Worlds, his month-long stint within the Hidden Floor had taken just under nineteen months.
Shaking his head, Vahn attempted to expand his senses in order to teleport to the closest exit only to remember that spatial movements were extremely limited within the express. This caused a wry smile to develop across his face, so, with nothing better to do, he began slowly moving towards his destination before pulling out his Pocket and connecting with Poro Poe, the interim Conductor of the Hell Express.
With time quickly counting down to the moment when he would be forced to flee the Hell Train to avoid facing the consequences of his actions, Poe had been feeling extremely unnerved by Vahn's absence. Thus, upon hearing his Pocket vibrate, he answered without hesitation, his voice cracking as he asked, "How did it go? Did you manage to revive Roen!?"
Though it wasn't entirely accurate, Vahn decided to help ease the portly fellow's fears by nodding his head and saying, "Indeed. The situation is a little complicated, but she is currently resting within the Little Garden alongside Daniel. Meet me at exit 13-C. I'll let you reside in the Second Layer until I get a better grasp of the situation outside. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."
Holding back tears, a massive grin developed across Poe's face as he sobbingly yet eagerly replied, "I'll be there in five, no, three minutes...!"
Chuckling in response to the man's words, Vahn cut the connection between their Pockets before allowing his gaze to wander about the Hell Express's interior. The interior had become reminiscent of a tundra, but, rather than icicles in snow, the crystalline structures protruding from every surface were almost entirely comprised of Shinsu. These crystals had served as nourishment for one of the more troublesome enemies onboard the express, a type of Shinheuh known as Crystal Fish. Though they had been easily defeated by the members of Vahn's entourage, it was easy to imagine anyone beneath C-Rank being consumed by the seemingly infinite swarm of crystalline creatures.
Fortunately, now that the Hell Express had arrived at its final destination, the majority of Shinheuh and Guardians no longer spawned. Only those who had been installed to protect specific locations remained, but, now that the train was inactive, the teleportals leading to different paths no longer functioned. They would only reactive in six month's time, just in time for the Hell Train to begin it's annual journey anew.
Now that he had resolved the issue of spirits being used as fuel, Vahn had decided to allow the Hell Express to continue operating. The God of Guardians had agreed to change the rules so that people who had cleared the train would no longer be able to board, so, while it was only a matter of time before someone found a loophole to exploit, the problems that had plagued the hellish locomotive for generations had been largely resolved. The only people who could conceivably change things at this point were members of the Workshop, but, the moment they tried to modify the formation he had left behind, they would effectively be converting the core room into a mausoleum.
Vahn didn't particularly mind if people researched the magic formations he left in his wake, but he sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for them. He was pretty sure the Workshop were the bad guys in this particular story, so, until he had uncovered the whole truth, he had decided to regard them in a similar light to Jahad and the Ten Great Families. If they proved to be even half as wicked as he imagined, they would find themselves at the end of a long list of enemies who had made the mistake of crossing his bottom line.
With such thoughts dancing across his mind, Vahn reached his destination to find a panting Poe already waiting for him. The portly man had been endeavoring for six-hundred-years in an attempt to meet the woman who had shown him kindness when everyone else had shunned him; so, even if they could never be together, just confirming her safety was enough to permit him to begin a new chapter in his life.
Pulling a bottle of sport's water from his Inventory, Vahn handed it over to the gasping man before manifesting the Little Garden and saying, "Though you can't stay indefinitely, I will allow you to take up residence in the Second Layer if you need time to organize your thoughts. What is the highest Floor you've managed to clear?"
Understanding the reason for Vahn's question, Poe's expression became awkward as he rubbed the back of his head and answered, "The 44th..."
As they were currently located on said Floor, Vahn couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation as he clapped the man on his back and said, "Time flows five times faster within the Second Layer. I have a few things to take care of here and on the 50th Floor, so you'll have a few months to catch up and make preparations for the future. If you choose to stay longer, you'll be forced to backtrack through the Middle Tower if you want to continue climbing."
Smiling in response to Vahn's words, Poe was preparing to express his tremendous gratitude when his figure spontaneously disappeared. In the wake of his departure, Vahn allowed a light chuckle to escape his throat as he finally disembarked the Hell Express. There, undoubtedly waiting for him, in particular, a rather sizeable group consisting almost entirely women had gathered. This included a number of familiar faces, two of which stood out among the rest as every other group present gave them a considerably wide berth.
Restraining the urge to sigh, Vahn forced a smile as he remarked, "After what happened last time, I wouldn't have expected a Princess of Jahad to be waiting for me at the Last Station...tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure, Princess Maschenny?"
Offering a smile that was equal parts predatory as it was seductive and cunning, Maschenny replied, "Considering your reputation, I doubt I need to explain to you the reason behind my visit. Since you did go out of your way to ask, however, I supposed it would only be proper to offer an explanation. If you would be so kind as to accompany me to a more...private venue...I would be more than happy to be your conversational partner."
Speaking in the wake of Maschenny's inviting words, the most notable of the women present, at least in Vahn's opinion, playfully mused, "Oh my. Such scandalous words from a Princess of Jahad. I'm sure your mission is of the utmost importance, Hime-sama, but the dignity of the Jahad Empire cannot be forgotten so easily. Please remember your place~."
With the only change in her expression being the ends of her smile curling upwards, Maschenny turned her attention to the woman who had effectively accused her of misconduct before several dozen representatives of the Ten Great Families. This caused the woman in question to pale ever-so-slightly, but, with countless witnesses present, she was pretty sure that Maschenny wouldn't try to kill her directly. The authority of a Princess of Jahad was surprisingly limited when they weren't acting in their capacity as envoys of Jahad, so, unless she wanted to worsen relations between the Khun and other Great Families, even someone as infamous as Maschenny's needed to measure her behavior around other representatives.
In the end, Maschenny's smile grew to the point that she was lightly squinting. This caused a tense atmosphere to descend upon the entire platform before Vahn, wearing a mask of disinterest, plainly stated, "I'd rather just check into my room and get some rest. As you pointed out, I'm well aware of the reason for your visit. Rather, I'm aware of the motives of everyone present. Return and tell your respective masters that I have no particular interest in forming any kind of alliances at present. They have nothing to offer me, and, while many of you are remarkably beautiful, I'm not exactly wanting for companionship. That includes you, Ms. Pram. As captivating as your ears and tail might be, your Snow Leopard Family isn't exactly in my good graces. Despite that, I presently have no intention of seeking any kind of remunerations from them. So long as you don't bring me unnecessary troubles, I have no reason to come seeking recompense."
Though his words weren't completely truthful, Vahn had decided to leave the fates of the Ten Great Families to those who had been victimized by them. He wouldn't turn a blind eye to them getting in his way, but, so long as they didn't expose their crimes before him, he wasn't going to go out of his way to seek out and slaughter them. He would rather empower the people who had been wronged by them in the past, and, once they had become strong enough to right the wrongs that had been committed against him, he would watch from the sidelines to prevent them from taking things too far...
Showing a surprising amount of disregard for the words that had just come out of Vahn's mouth, the Elder of the Snow Leopard Family held up her absurdly fluffy tail with both hands, smiling as she asked, "You think my tail and ears are captivating~?". Then, with a playfully seductive glimmer in her eyes, she showed off the fact she had a cat-like tongue by shamelessly grooming herself for all eyes to see.
Despite his best efforts to appear unperturbed, Vahn couldn't help but open his mouth slightly as he attempted to vocalize words that had never formed within his mind. This caused Pram to squint her silvery eyes in amusement, and, though some had been intending to give up after Vahn's earlier words, the more confident among them began formulating plans of their own after observing his reaction.
Realizing he had just made a number of problems for himself, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he shook his head and said, "Don't tempt me. Any man of worth wouldn't be able to simply ignore a beauty standing right in front of him. That doesn't mean I'm prone to things like seduction. If you overextend and end up trying my patience, there is a chance that neither you nor your family would be able to bear the consequences..."
Seemingly undaunted, Pram creased grooming her tail to offer a playful wink as she said, "I think it might surprise you to discover just how much I can bear..."
Shaking his head in exasperation, Vahn decided to withhold further comment as he said, "I'm going to my room. If you don't move, I'll-"
Before he could finish speaking, Pram promptly released her tail before taking a few steps forward and asking, "You'll what~? I'm sure everyone here would like to know. Please speak loudly so that your words reach all the way to the back~."
After gauging Vahn's previous reactions, Pram was pretty sure he was actually a pushover when it came to beautiful and assertive women. His behavior while climbing the Tower also demonstrated an inherent kindness and a busybody nature that couldn't ignore people in need. Such individuals were wholly incapable of raising their hand against people who wished them no harm, so, without a single sign of fear or hesitation, she reduced the distance between her and Vahn with a few decisive steps.
Understanding the woman's thoughts, narrated between the laughter of the Law of Identity, Vahn found himself at a complete loss for words. To make matters even worse, his mastery over the Law of Petting gave him an almost instinctual urge to reach out and caress her fluffy ears. She was only 161cm tall, including her ears, so, in more ways than one, she had what some aficionados might call a perfectly pettable height. The fact she was staring up at him with an expectant smile didn't help in the slightest, and, were it not for the substantial number of onlookers, he might not have been able to hold out for more than a few seconds...
Unfortunately, a few seconds was exactly how long Vahn had lasted, and, before he knew it, he was using both hands to fondle Pram's fluffy hair and immaculately soft ears. This earned him a number of judgmental looks from the peanut gallery but, with one of the most pettable people he had ever met standing right in front of him, how could he, a self-professed God of Petting, resist?
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Time Shenaniganery...!','Politics is just a pissing contest...','Pram be like, "I am inevitable."')
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