บท 1951: Stirrings
Lying within the ruins of a long-destroyed bed, Vahn, appearing far more muscular than normal, exhaled a hot sigh tinged with a pale golden vapor. At his side, nestled against him with glistening red fur covering much of her body, Yuri could be seen tracing the runic pattern covering his body with a glazed look in her eyes. She honestly looked even more beautiful now than she had nearly a year prior, not because he had grown accustomed to her presence, but because her untamed hair, phenomenal aura, and cross-like pupils gave off the impression of a domesticated yet remarkably powerful Goddess...
Grasping her wayward hand with his own, a smile spread across Vahn's face as Yuri turned her face up to meet his. This resulted in an almost instinctual exchange of saliva, and, as was often the case, the tip of Yuri's monkey-like tail began to twitch as the fur across her body began to shimmer due to the gradual release of her aura. Before things could follow their usual pattern, however, a chuckle arose from Vahn's throat as he separated their lips and said, "Now, now...behave yourself...if you get riled up again, it'll take another half a day just to calm you down..."
Puffing her cheeks somewhat childishly, Yuri's aura continued to rise as she moved her knee to not-so-gently nudge his sleeping member. Unfortunately, they had already agreed to leave more than a month prior, so, tempting as her behavior might be, Vahn managed to resist, his expression turning serious as he matched her gaze.
Realizing he wasn't going to take the bait, Yuri's expression immediately reverted to a more neutral look as she exhaled a sigh as she rose to a seated position. Then, with her noticeably muscular arms crossed beneath her flawless white breasts, she half-heartedly protested, "You're no fun. It's not like there is any rush to leave. At least let me get strong enough to beat those old hags if push comes to shove..."
With a somewhat incredulous look on his face, Vahn briefly cast his gaze to the intricate pattern on Yuri's back. This caused her status to immediately appear within his view, a wry smile immediately developing across his face as he replied, "Your Shinsu had increased by an order of magnitude and you're capable of maintaining a form that amplifies your power by nearly five-hundred times...if you go all out, you're nearly three times stronger than Ureko in her base state. How much more power do you need...?"
Tilting her head to the side and tapping her arm as if she was in deep thought, Yuri remained silent for nearly half a minute before nodding her head and answering, "Since you're aiming for Tier 7, I at least want to reach the pinnacle of Tier 6. As I am now, even if I were ten-thousand times stronger, I wouldn't be able to defeat a Tier 5 within their Realm, right? At the very least, I want to reach a level where I can punch whoever I want without them being able to simply ignore it."
Though she had once been content with her power, meeting Vahn allowed Yuri to understand that even her adoptive father, someone everyone believed to be invincible, was actually near the bottom rungs of the truly powerful. Heck, even a complete monster like Phantaminum, someone capable of freely massacring their way into the very heart of the Imperial Palace wasn't particularly powerful in the grand scheme of things. This gave her the impression she was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well, and, had she never chanced upon Vahn, she would have spent the remainder of her days wholly unaware of the vastness of creation...
Noticing the determined blaze in Yuri's scarlet eyes, Vahn couldn't help adopting an appreciative smile. Immediately thereafter, however, he mused, "Then you'll need to study. Though it might be possible to reach the pinnacle by focusing wholly on combat, you will always struggle against those with a greater understanding of the Laws."
Groaning in response to Vahn's words, Yuri plopped onto her side in a huff, her butt pointed toward him in an obvious attempt to entice him to act. To her credit, this would have succeeded 99% of the time, but, having already resolved himself to depart their little bubble, Vahn managed to restrain his libido by smacking her extremely pliant posterior with enough force to send a visible ripple through it as he said, "Don't pout. This is the path you've chosen. I'm already going to get an earful after the others hear about how long we've been in here. Let's go."
Offering a defiant groan in response, Vahn half-expected Yuri to refuse, but, almost immediately thereafter, the fur covering her body vanished into motes of light as she rolled onto her back and said, "Carry me..." with her arms extended upward. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, after an entire year with the rather shameless Princess, he had grown rather accustomed to her random demands. Thus, despite shaking his head in exasperation, he invariably ended up raising Yuri from the ruins of their lovenest before departing the meteoric crater that now dominated the region...
---
Following a 'very' long explanation and a brief period of relaxation, Vahn emerged from the Little Garden with a somewhat bored-looking Yuri at his side. She didn't even seem to care much about her surroundings, pathetically muttering, "Oh, I almost forgot about this place..." before plopping onto her bed and adding, "Wow...I never realized how shitty my own bed was..."
Extending his hand to the black-haired beauty, Vahn pulled her back to her feet before promptly swapping out her bed for something infinitely more comfortable. At the same time, he helped to fix her somewhat unkempt hair as he said, "I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. If you choose to follow along with me, that is the end of the matter. Even if it ends up causing a war, I don't really care as long as you're happy."
With an amused smile spreading across her face, Yuri allowed Vahn to fix her hair and attire as she mused, "You're so full of it. Even if you're not lying, we both know you can't help caring about such things. You might be able to fool yourself by pretending to ignore it, but I've never met someone as 'sensitive' as you when it comes to the suffering of others. Don't worry. I can't promise I won't cause trouble, but I can at least ensure it won't immediately be traced back to you. Just make sure to keep your ear to the ground. I'm certain you'll be surprised when you hear the news..."
Though he could have easily ascertained her thoughts with the help of the Law of Identity, Vahn just issued a light chuckled before planting a kiss on Yuri's parted lips and saying, "Try not to bully them too much." before following it up with another kiss and adding, "Also, make sure you explain things properly to your Great-Grandmother. I don't mind joining hands with the Ha Family, but there is no way in hell I'm going to become something like a 'Great Father'..."
Responding with a chuckle of her own, Yuri motioned to bite Vahn's lip before pushing him away and saying, "You don't have to worry about that. So long as you don't go knocking up my cousin, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince the others you're beyond their means to obtain. The only two you really need to be wary of are those two bitches trying to take over the Family. I should be able to defeat them relatively easily, but that probably won't stop them from trying to approach you in order to gain power. As for my Grandma...well, you're on your own when it comes to her. Just make sure you don't knock her up before me..if you do, I don't care how many times it grows back. I'll cut it off..."
Perhaps as an allusion to the method she would employ, Yuri, once again, snapped her teeth before adopting a predatory smile, spinning on her heels, and departing the room. This caused a thin layer of goose pimples to spread across Vahn's arms, not because of Yuri's threat, but because the Law of Identity had transformed into her Great-Grandmother in order to seductively lick her lips and cackle at his expense. This gave Vahn an overwhelming urge to tan her backside, but, knowing she would just enjoy it, he ultimately shook his head before pulling out his Pocket and saying, "Establish contact with the Guardian..."
---
Sensing a peculiar disturbance within her own power, a woman almost indistinguishable for Yuri, the only difference being that she was slightly older and had a different hairstyle, opened her eyes to reveal a moderate amount of surprise. This caused the servant pouring her drink to immediately freeze in place, sweat appearing across her body as she trembled like a tiny field mouse cornered by a starving lioness.
Without showing any indication that she was even aware of the servant girl's presence, a smile spread across the face of the raven-haired woman as she gracefully rose from her altar-like throne. This further surprised the servant girl, as, for the last three years, her mistress had spent the vast majority of her time silently meditating within the vast scarlet chamber. She didn't even stir when the Family gathered once a month to pay their respects; so, when she saw the ornately dressed beauty walked to the center of the hall before pulling out a fiery red Pocket, she began to seriously consider whether or not she was in a dream...
Continuing to ignore the servant girl, the raven-haired woman seemed to grow impatient despite the fact her call had only rung twice. By the third ring, an oppressive aura had started to permeate the several-kilometer wide chamber, and, immediately thereafter, all of the glowstones serving to fill the surroundings with pale red light shattered. Fortunately, before the third ring could complete, a somewhat nervous voice could be heard from the receiver, asking, "Yurin? It's rare for you to call me first...is it about our daughter?"
Adopting an annoyed frown, the woman, Ha Yurin, Leader of the Ha Family, promptly replied, "She is no longer 'our' daughter. You lost the chance to be her father when you ran away like a whipped dog..."
Though he had become accustomed to his former friend and lover's harsh tone, the voice emitting from the receiver could be heard exhaling a melancholic sigh before muttering, "You locked me in a dungeon for weeks under the pretense of whipping me into shape. Without my immortality, I would have died a hundred times over..."
Snorting in disdain, Yurin resisted shattering the inordinately expensive Pocket as she crossed her arms and said, "You're such a drama queen. It is because you were immortal that I pushed you to that extent. Stop making excuses for running away. Had you faced me like a man, I wouldn't have been so harsh on you..."
After supplying another sigh, the voice on the receiver remained silent for several seconds before asking, "What is the purpose of this call? If you've nothing to discuss, I've more important matters to attend than listening to you ridicule and insult me..."
With a predatory smile spreading across her face, Yurin looked like she was ready to devour her own Pocket as she mused, "Oh? Is there actually a backbone in that jellyfish-like body of yours? Go ahead and hang up. I fucking dare you."
Rather than responding, the voice on the opposite end remained absolutely silent until Yurin finally clicked her tongue and explained, "I'm not sure what happened, but Yuri just got a lot stronger. You should probably make preparations for her arrival. She isn't particularly fond of your Ari Family after what happened during her climb..."
Exhaling a sigh so profound that it caused a depressive atmosphere to descend upon the several-kilometer wide throne room, a tremendous amount of sadness could be heard from the voice on the receiver as its owner, Ari Han, Leader of the Ari Family, replied, "I understand...thank you for the heads up. I'll try and take care of things on my end...just...please don't incite her...it pains me more than you can imagine knowing that my own daughter hates me..."
Rather than vocalizing any promises, Yurin promptly cut the call before crossing her arms beneath her rather infamous bust and closing her eyes for the better part of ten minutes. Then, with a slight shake of her head, she muttered, "Sorry, Han, but I already promised that girl that she could live as freely as she pleased..." before turning around and finally taking notice of the young girl standing statuesque next to her throne. This caused the juvenile member of the Ha Family to tense up even further, but, upon hearing her mistress ask, "Have you been there the whole time...?" she couldn't help falling flat on her face due to the sheer incredulity of the situation...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Kuja Trance vibes','*chomp*','I can't help wondering what Yurin's intelligence rating is...')
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