Chương 804: Descent Start
By the time the expedition was ready to depart, nearly two hours had passed, making it around 7 AM before they finally set out. The large crowd walked alongside the expedition party, cheering and shouting along the way as the path leading into the Dungeon had been completely cleared out. This wasn't just a major event for the Alliance itself, but represented progress for the entire City of Orario. The mission statement of the Guild, and every Adventurer within the City, had always been to venture into the unknown and uncover the secrets shrouded in darkness. The Dungeon represented the ultimate 'adventure' and, with the Alliance paving the way forward, it was as if they were all witnessing the dawn of a new era.
Of course, not everyone was welcoming this change as Vahn had already taken note of several small groups with the expedition itself who had less than clear auras. They were likely belonging to criminal Familias that had infiltrated in with the construction workers and laborers. There was an even higher chance that they belonged to the Noble faction and would try to facilitate whatever schemes that group of fools had cooked up. He had already received a report of an expedition of around one hundred people venturing into the Dungeon the previous day, comprised almost entirely of freelance Adventurers and mercenaries.
Vahn knew they would likely try to follow behind the Alliance's expedition and try to get a foothold of their own, something that was already expected. With assistance from their men on the inside, they would probably try to steal resources or something more sinister, not that it would matter in the end. Though the 'settlement' on the 50th Floor was a project of the Alliance, it was still a project personally headed by Vahn himself. He had absolute authority and, from the moment the [Seed of the Tree of Life] was planted, there wasn't a single person that would have any say on the matter. If any criminal activity was discovered within Haven, especially if it was related to subterfuge, collusion, and espionage, they would immediately be exiled from the encampment and allowed to fend for themselves.
Haven was inarguably the most important project that he would implement within the record before he returned to it in the future. To prevent any hiccups from occurring, Vahn didn't mind being somewhat ruthless if people didn't have enough sense to stand aside and see reason. This was something that was necessary for the stability of the entire world, not just the Continent, so Vahn wouldn't tolerate fools machinating to undermine what the Alliance was setting out to accomplish...
Because of their sheer numbers, and how small the corridors on the Upper Floors were, it took nearly three hours to make the journey from the surface down to the 18th Floor, Rivira. Along the way, they had been besieged by a veritable army of monsters that sought to bar their passage. Their numbers were so great that it was almost like a permanant monster party, even if they were almost entirely comprised of Level 1 monsters. Even so, it was still very inconvenient and this was the main reason why such a massive expedition had never been attempted in the past. It would only get worse as they progressed further but, with the corridors opening up a bit, it would actually be easier to deal with the endless waves.
For the time being, the girls had protected the wagons while the Supporters and lower Level Adventurers got experience fighting monsters. This was another reason why the journey had been slow, even though it was rather entertaining watching Level 1 and 2 Adventurers fight seriously against Hellhounds, Minotaurs, and Ligerfangs. The construction crew, crowding around the carts in a formation, had stayed in the back while cheering on the budding Adventurers, much to the latter group's chagrin. Still, it was inarguably a good amount of experience and Vahn wasn't in any particular rush, even if he had set the window for reaching the 50th Floor at five days.
Unlike the past, where they would accept missions from the various Adventurers located on the 18th Floor, the expedition continued forward into the Great Tree Labyrinth without stopping. This had surprised many people but, remembering the purpose of the expedition this time around, it wasn't too surprising. Unfortunately, one group was completely caught off guard by this and Vahn couldn't help but laugh, causing Alexa to inquisitively ask, "Papa, what is so funny...?" To this, Vahn inclined his head towards a small encampment near a hill in the distance. There was a chaotic scene playing out as the expeditionary party belonging to the Nobles were caught grossly unprepared for the fact that they hadn't stopped to make final preparations.
With her eyes, Alexa could even see the small hairs making up the scruff of some of the men's faces. She saw them moving about and, realizing what they were up to, Alexa frowned and asked, "Papa, why do you allow people to get in your way? With your strength, people should lower their heads and do as you say, not get in your way. They are taking advantage of your kindness..." As she was speaking, Alexa looked like she was contemplating taking to the sky and bombarding the fools that would dare to bar her Papa's passage. Understanding this, Vahn placed his hand on her head and, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, explained, "Sometimes, people wander off the path and end up living a life of inevitable regret. There is always hope that they will correct their ways and, unless we witness their crimes ourselves, or learn of them through a reliable source, it isn't right for us to pass judgment on them. Besides, it's giving them too much credit if we let every minor threat bother us..."
Alexa's aquamarine eyes shimmered slightly before she lowered her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. To his right, Fenrir was dangling her feet off the edge of the cart while looking towards the Noble expedition's encampment with her scarlet red eyes reflecting a cold light. She also agreed that those people weren't worth her Master's time but, contrary to this, Fenrir also believed it would save everyone a lot of trouble if someone dealt with them. Still, unless she was told to take care of them, Fenrir would always respect her Master's wishes since she too desired a happier world, not necessarily one with more death...
Passing through the Large Tree Labyrinth was the first step of their journey this time around and, after around ten hours, the expedition had arrived outside a connecting corridor that would lead to the first Floor of the Great Falls, the 25 Floor known as the Water City. Since passing through that area would be one of the most troublesome legs of the entire journey, the expedition made camp outside the 25th Floor and sealed off all the areas leading into it. Even if the Nobles' expedition showed up, they would be turned away since the entire area had been claimed by the Alliance for the time being. This was a bit of a power play but, if they wanted to play games, Vahn didn't mind inconveniencing them as well.
Seeing the ocean of tents that had been set up, Vahn had a thoughtful expression while hovering in the air around twenty meters. This drew the attention of a lot of people but, as it was already well documented that he was able to fly, nobody was that surprised. In fact, if not for Alexa sitting on his shoulders, while Fenrir curled up in his lap, most of them likely would have minded their own business. As for what the other girls were up to, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Chloe, Tina, Shizune, Arnya, Ryuu, and Mikoto had gone to get some rest. They would be very busy starting tomorrow and it was paramount they were functioning at one hundred percent to avoid any issues. The only two that were busy, at least for the time being, were Haruhime, overseeing the Rearguard Unit, and Lefiya, managing the allocation of Mages within all three Units, essentially serving the role that Riveria would have filled in the past.
Though their magic wasn't nearly as versatile as what many of the girls were capable of, it wasn't as if Mages using the old magic system were entirely useless. Their power could still wipe out monsters that were several levels above themselves if used properly. They might not have much of a role starting tomorrow, but that didn't mean they wouldn't have their uses when dealing with any waves that break through the strike teams' perimeter. Vahn also knew that, just witnessing his girls perform, many of the Mages within the Alliance would be inspired to grow stronger. This would increase the reputation of his girls and also serve as a means for them to build rapport with the rest of the Alliance in general...
Once the camp was completely set up, Vahn made the decision to give everyone a full eight hours of sleep and decided he would watch over the encampment while everyone else slept. Since he was currently back at the Manor enjoying a somewhat hectic bath while trying to keep Meinya from running around, he wasn't particularly in need of any rest. Eventually, he managed to snatch her up with his telekinesis when she almost slipped onto her face and, while she was laughing mischievously, brought her into the water to wash her head. Without Arnya to constantly look after her, Meinya was acting out a bit and Vahn had been spending a good part of his day playing with her, Alise, and many of his other children.
Perhaps it was the fact that he was enjoying a pleasant experience back at the Manor, but Vahn felt like the Dungeon was actually somewhat 'boring' right now. Even though he knew there were actually legitimate dangers, even to his immortal self, it was almost impossible to feel any real tension when happy things were happening at the same time. He could even imagine an instance where he might be making love to one of the girls back at the Manor while Enyo's forces tried to ambush him. This thought caused a strange incongruity in Vahn that made him feel as if he wasn't treating this matter as seriously as he should be...
Though she had seemed to be snoozing in his lap, Fenrir's ears perked up around 2 AM, her scarlet eyes opening soon after as she began sniffing the air. Vahn had already noticed the peculiarity she was sensing and wondered if this was the best Enyo would be able to throw at them. Currently, there was a light pink mist that had started to emanate from strange flowers that had bloomed throughout the encampment. They were small, seemingly harmless, plants that most people wouldn't have spared a second glance. Vahn, however, immediately noticed their peculiarity and appeared at the side of one, plucking it from the ground with his [Eyes of Truth] active and smelling it directly.
The hazy pink mist caused his body to heat up slightly before it was immediately purified, causing Vahn to snort as he began to use a basic purification spell through his domain itself. The spores emanating from the plant were almost invisible to the naked eye and, though someone like Fenrir was able to smell it, the spores were actually scentless. As for their effect, it was a relatively potent aphrodisiac that could have caused a great deal of chaos if it had gone unnoticed. Though it wasn't traditionally considered a 'weapon', anything that could affect a person's base instincts could cause a catastrophe in an emergency situation.
Sensing that the amount of mana in the area had started to increase, Vahn shot a flare into the air that caused bells to begin ringing out moments later. In less than three minutes, most Adventurers had already exited their tents in full equipment and were combat ready. As for Vahn, he had already reached the Command Tent as Finn came outside with his spear in hand, asking, "What is the emergency, Vahn?" Without beating around the bush, Vahn held up the flower and explained, "A monster party is going to converge on our position soon. These plants emit nearly invisible pollens that act as a powerful aphrodisiac. Make sure everyone has their [Panacea] at the ready for any unexpected situations."
Even though this area should have been relatively safe, Finn wasn't surprised that a Monster Party would converge on them when they had such a large number of people. When Vahn mentioned the flowers, however, he was extremely surprised and asked, "Enyo...?" However, he didn't stick around to wait for Vahn's answer, already knowing the truth of the matter as he moved to the top of a cart and began shouting out orders with his [Command Howl] ability. In the distance, Shakti had already started to organize the majority of the second unit into the center of the encampment while Haruhime had created a phalanx oriented towards the 24th Floor while people quickly began disassembling the tents behind. In total, less than five minutes had passed and even the construction personnel were already quickly at work in preparing the defenses...
Seeing how smoothly everything was going, Vahn had a satisfied smile on his face as he stood in the air with Fenrir and Alexa at his sides. Turning to his daughter, Vahn said, "Make sure you don't use any big attacks near our allies but, other than that, feel free to cut loose if you want. I'll watch over you from here...good luck, Alexa..." Before sending her off, Vahn gave his daughter a hug and then watched with a mixture of pride and concern as she pulled out a 4m long black spear, forged from her own scales, and took off like a loose arrow towards an area where monsters had started to break through the reinforced wooden walls.
Without any hesitation at all, as though she had fought hundreds of times before, Alexa buried her spear into the gullet of a Hobgoblin before brandishing it, sending the monster's body ragdolling through the air as she quickly diced through the next enemy. There was absolutely no sign of fear on her face at all, instead, a small smile had started to spread across her face as she danced through the bits of blood and gore that deflected off her emerald-green aura. Seeing this, Vahn knew she was more than a match for monsters of this Level but, just to be safe, turned to Fenrir was a slight plea in his gaze. She returned a somewhat wry smile before nodding her head and heading toward where Alexa was fighting, supporting her without directly interfering with the battle.
With Fenrir looking after Alexa, Vahn spared some of his attention to other ongoing fights and wondered how the Dungeon was even able to keep its structural integrity when monsters were pouring out almost every surface. For the time being, he didn't need to interfere personally and, other than dealing with any variants that would pop up, the girls were also keeping their true strength hidden. The only thing he needed to do at the moment was take out any of the flowers that would periodically pop up, even though Shakti's Unit had already been assigned with disassembling the remaining tents and destroying any flowers they found...
After nearly a half hour of constant battle, most of the tents had already been stowed away in a compact form that Vahn could easily store inside of his Inventory. With this, they could begin their march into the 25th Floor directly, even though the Monster Party hadn't ended. There were no great benefits to clearing it out completely and, as they would be barraged by monsters on the 25th Floor regardless, it didn't make much of a difference if they began moving. To enable the transition, Vahn decided to take action of his own for the first time and pulled out his reforged [Laevateinn], now possessing a blade that looked perpetually aflame.
Sending a telepathic signal to Haruhime, she quickly raised her Unit Banner high and shouted, "Second and Third Platoons, begin falling back and join up with the 2nd Unit. First and Fourth Platoons, prepare to close up the gaps and focus on the defense. Mages, erect an anti-magic barrier on my mark~!" Much like Finn's, Haruhime's voice also cut through the air since she too had the [Command Howl] ability. Since she had been groomed to hold a leadership position from the very beginning, Haruhime's battle sense and perception had become quite sharp. She also practiced directing mock battles within the orb and had learned a great deal from Aki, Riveria, and Tsubaki.
With Haruhime sending out her orders, Vahn put on a show as if she had perfectly 'predicted' what was going to happen. The moment her Unit began moving out, he crashed down in the mass of monsters and created a large swath of perpetually burning flames that spread quickly through the monsters as a result of his flame elemental manipulation. Since the 24th Floor was also part of the Large Tree Labyrinth, being comprised of wood, it spread even faster than normal and began to incinerate the mostly plant-based monsters. At the same time, without minding the flames at all, Vahn walked freely amongst them and cut down monsters with incredible ease as the slack-jawed members of the Rearguard Unit stared aimlessly at his figure.
Seeing that her forces had stopped moving, Haruhime's voice transitioned from being calm and elegant to cold and firm, shouting, "First and Fourth Platoons, move into your positions, now!" These words snapped the majority of her forces back into focus, which also caused those few that were still distracted to begin moving. At the same time, Haruhime's tails began to snake through the air in a somewhat tantalizing manner before fanning out behind her in a perfectly symmetrical fashion. Illusory blue flames began burning on their tips as thin spears of blue-black ice formed in the air around her. Instead of just four, however, there were a total of twenty-nine lethal looking magic projectiles that then shot forward at hypersonic speeds.
After polishing her [Sagitta Magicka] and [Icicle Edge] to the extreme, Haruhime had been able to fuse them together into a chantless version of the spell that combined both Darkness and Ice Elemental energy. This greatly increased their destructive power and, such as in this instance, made it nearly impossible for fire to melt them as they cut through [Laevateinn]'s flames and skewered any unfortunate monster in their path. This display caused those that weren't paying full attention to Haruhime's orders to quickly get in line, especially since her spears had passed within centimeters of some people...
With Vahn filling more and more of the wide room with his flames, keeping them from spreading to the Alliance by creating a membrane that blocked both the spread and the smoke resulting from the flames burning. Vahn knew that using fire without an enclosed area could lead to a severe drop in oxygen levels, but his barrier had segmented the room and forced a backdraft that sucked away some of the monsters into the connecting corridors. This was a pretty interesting phenomenon and Vahn enjoyed seeing some monsters get pulled off their feet and tumble through the air as a result of the increasing wind speed.
While this was going on, the expedition had almost completely reformed itself and only the Rearguard would need to get into position before they advanced. However, just as Haruhime was prepared to give the order, she instead shouted, "Fan out, immediately!" Since they had been listening closely to her orders, the First and Fourth Platoon immediately dispersed from the flanks as Lili flipped through the sky like an acrobat and, just as a massive flower-type monster burst through the ground, buried her fist into its head.
The plant had a strange appearance, much like a snake, but with vibrant flower petals around its head and a giant pistil protruding from its stamen. There was a thick pink mist flowing from its mouth but, before it was even able to release whatever sound it was capable of producing, Lili's fist created a veritable pillar of a shockwave that tore apart the monster like paper mache. The ground, which had been partly destroyed by the emergence of the monster, was now absolutely devasted as the shockwave from Lili's punch caused the hard wooden surface to fracture and splinter for dozens of meters. Upon witnessing this, an eerie silence descended upon the expedition before Lili came stumbling out of the smoke with a heavily flushed face and a predatory expression as she looked towards Vahn...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Get pranked, Noble twatnuggets','First Contact','Predatory Pallum (O,..,O)')
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Chương 805: Suspicion
Though she was in a 'heated' state, Lili didn't lose her senses as a result of the accessories Vahn had created for all the girls. They had a very high resistance to almost every status abnormality and, though it was obviously affecting her a bit, the main reason was that Lili's own excitement from the previous hour of fighting had gotten her blood to boil a little. Understanding this, Vahn stowed away his [Laevateinn] and came next to her with [Shundo] before, not minding the ground at all, tracing his fingers through Lili's hair and stroking the side of her cheek. She whimpered and made a pouting expression but accepted his assistance in helping rid the effects of the aphrodisiac on her body.
Once he had removed the spores in their entirety, Vahn traced his thumb along Lili's lip and, with a casual smile on his face, reminded, "There is a time and a place for everything, Lili..." This caused her to take a deep breath and, after looking around at the more than one-thousand people, blush fiercely before surprising him with a punch to the gut and running off. Vahn felt the wind forced from his lungs but recovered almost instantly as he followed Lili's retreat for a few seconds before turning his attention to where the monstrous plant-like monster had been.
It wasn't surprising to find plant-based monsters within the Large Tree Labyrinth section of the Dungeon, as they were quite common in this area, but this was his first time seeing this particular species. Waving his hand, Vahn pulled a large magic core from the rubble and noticed it had a peculiar yellow coloration, distinctly different from the amethyst purple of almost every other monster core. Though there were some exceptions, such as in the case of variant species and large monsters like Dragons, this was the first time he had seen this type of core before. It had malevolent energy and, though he wasn't sure how he was able to discern this, Vahn felt like there was a lot of pain and anguish coming from the core...
Deciding to keep it for further study, Vahn tossed it into his Inventory without selling it to the system shop, the final resting place of most cores and Drop Items that weren't generally useful. Afterward, he turned to Fenrir and Alexa, who had already come to his side, and said, "Let's go. Fenrir, I'll leave freezing the water on the 25th through 27th Floors to you. If you run low on energy, come back to me and I'll help top you up." Fenrir nodded her head, saying, "I understand, Master. Leave it to me." As for Alexa, she was breathing a little heavily from getting too excited so Vahn smiled before picking her up in an embrace carry and rejoining the expedition. There were still thousands of monsters present, but the majority were burned by the flames immediately after spawning while the rest were picked off by the ranged units in the expedition...
Passage through the Water City, notoriously one of the more difficult legs of any expedition, went relatively smoothly with Fenrir literally freezing every lake, causing several meters of magically reinforced ice to prevent monsters from taking action. Though it cost him much of his own reserves to top her's off, Vahn wasn't that active on these Floors and just acted as a sentry while Alexa snoozed across his lap. He could replenish the majority of his energy after resting for a few minutes, a fact that would cause any other Mage to vomit blood if they learned about this terrifying fact.
While passing through the Floors, Vahn was wondering just how much of the monsters' response to their presence was the Dungeon itself and how much was orchestrated by Enyo. The strange plant monster was an obvious anomaly and the species of flower wasn't documented in any of the compendiums compiled by the Guild. Even his Inventory would take a few hours to completely analyze it, showing that the flowers were likely something that had been cultivated and engineered, not something naturally occurring within the record. They were either the product of an Innate, or someone on Enyo's side had the relatively rare [Botanist] skill at a very high degree of development...
Just as the Vanguard Unit had passed from the 27th Floor and began heading down the stairs to the 28th, a very loud rustling sound could be heard echoing through the Dungeon. If not for Ais creating a massive wall of tempestuous wind in an instant, this surprise attack would have likely caused many casualties, if not death, amongst the Rearguard Unit. Vahn sent a telepathic message to the first strike team to explain the situation to Finn and make sure they didn't stagger and instead continue moving forward. At the same time, he startled awake Alexa by taking to the sky in an instant, causing her to dig her rather sharp nails into his arm.
Vahn just gave her a wry smile and allowed her to fly on her own before he joined Ais in creating a barrier that the massive cloud of sparrow-like monsters. These were the same Iguazu that had nearly wiped out their party in the past and, the fact they were so far away from dangerous cliff region showed that this was undoubtedly an orchestrated event. Unfortunately for the suicidal birds, other than their broken forms and blood raining from the sky, they were unable to pass through his 780m wide barrier as Ais began chasing around a large blue Iguazu that was guiding the rest of the pack. Her [Ariel] protected her body completely and tore apart anything that got even remotely close to her.
It took a few minutes, but Ais eventually managed to catch the hypersonic bird, completely destroying its body in a single strike. As a result, the cloud of Iguazu dispersed and become significantly more disorganized as they doubled back before turning around and slamming head-first into Vahn's barrier. Even as this was happening, Vahn didn't pay them any attention and instead focused his [Eyes of Truth] on the small golden particles that had emerged from the body of the variant Iguazu. He could sense the same malevolent energy and was now absolutely certain that the yellow monster cores had something to do with Enyo.
Ais came to his side while Alexa continued to show a rare blush as she averted her eyes away in embarrassment. Vahn had never actually seen her embarrassed before, even after observing her for one-hundred-twenty years. He found this reaction of her's a little refreshing but was pulled away from this thought as Ais said, "It's like they are all one monster...very strange..." Vahn nodded his head, understanding what Ais was saying and wondered if the Killer Ant Queen that nearly killed Bell was actually a similar entity. If these weren't isolated events, and Enyo had started to indiscriminately release her strange monsters into the Dungeon, things would become problematic in the near future...
With thought crossing his mind, Vahn turned his attention away from his son, Masonia, who he had been helping study. Even though the boy wasn't even two years old yet, he had already learned how to read and, though Riveria wasn't truly pressuring him to become King, Masonia himself had become strangely focused on the idea after learning of his heritage. He knew that it was no longer his birthright, as the crown was no longer inherited but based on power and merit, so Masonia was studying hard and wanted to become capable enough to one day succeed his grandfather, Larfal. As he was an exceptionally perceptive boy, he immediately noticed the peculiarities with his father and asked, "Father, is there something you need to attend to...?"
Vahn felt a small pang of guilt but nodded his head and explained, "I have discovered some important information in the Dungeon and need to investigate it as soon as possible. However, I don't really need to leave and have already sent a telepathic communication to Syr. She will let Loki know and that should get things started..." Masonia nodded his head in understanding but then asked, "If you went yourself, wouldn't it go much faster?" To this, Vahn became silent for a moment before Masonia produced a small smile and said, "Father, if it is something important, please see to it yourself. I will be fine here on my own and I have Sherry to accompany me if I need to take a break. Please, don't ignore your duties on my behalf..."
Hearing his son speaking words that were far more mature than his age would suggest, Vahn felt a mixture of pride and conflict. Then, deciding to ignore the fact that Masonia didn't like to be doted on, Vahn snatched up this intelligent son of his and gave him a firm hug. Having long learned of the futility of resisting, Masonia produced a wry smile and just accepted his fate as the adorable little Sherry, Masonia's Dryad Guardian, giggled off to the side. She was wearing a dress entirely comprised of leaves, banded together with vines, and adorned with small flowers all over. Though she couldn't speak fluently yet, barely stringing together 2-3 words at a time, she still showed a great deal of awareness about the world around her.
After cuddling his adorable son for the better part of a minute, Vahn set him back on the ground and said, "I'll have to ask your mom for permission, but I'll take you back with me to the Elven Kingdom the next time I visit. I'm certain your grandfather would love to see his brilliant little grandson~." This caused Masonia's long ears to perk up slightly, as they had been drooping down a little previously, and a large smile spread across his face as he asked, "Really!?" Vahn nodded without any hesitation and, thinking he needed to try and set a good example for his son, placed his hand on Masonia's shoulder and said, "The only time a man lies is if it is necessary to protect the people he cares about. If we can avoid it, we never speak falsehoods and, so as to never call into question our integrity, it is important to always mean what you say. Though the decision will rest on your mother, I'm certain I can convince her with a little coaxing..."
Masonia's smile suddenly transitioned into a very 'serious' expression as he nodded his head and said, "I understand, Father. Since that is the case, I will make my first promise now...as long as it does not conflict with me protecting the people I hold dear, I will endeavor to never tell a lie!" Though it felt a little awkward to hear his son parrot his words, Vahn couldn't help but smile as he stroked Masonia's head and said, "That's my boy...you make me so proud, Masonia..." This caused Masonia to puff up his chest and raise his chin slightly, not minding the fact that he was currently getting his head pat by his Father...
Before leaving the room, Vahn also gave Sherry some head pats, eliciting another giggle for the adorable little girl as some of the vines making up her dress coiled around his hand. As an entity that was perfectly attuned to natural energy, Sherry was especially fond of his petting since his [Yggdrasil's Blessing] was doubly effective against her. In fact, it was because of Sherry that Vahn learned that his [Yggrasil's Blessing] could be used to greatly accelerate the growth of plants, something that made a lot of sense but he had never even thought to use it in such a manner.
So that she didn't 'root' herself to his arm, Vahn had to pull his hand away, pinching her nose as he said, "Make sure to take care of my son, Sherry..." This caused the small Dryad to bring both hands to her face, giggling happily as she nodded her head. Afterward, she ran over to Masonia who had already started taking evasive action by moving to the other side of the table with a face asking, 'Father, why have you betrayed me...?' To this, Vahn just began laughing and headed towards the door as the sounds of his son's struggles emerged from behind him.
The reason Sherry had been sitting by herself is that Masonia, perhaps as a result of having so many female influences in his life, was strangely intimidated by women. Even his own Guardian, who was 'extremely' attached to the natural energy radiating from his body, wasn't an exception. There was even a time when Vahn had wandered in on them in the library with Sherry essentially 'growing' off of him. If he truly wanted her to leave him alone, Masonia could 'order' her away, or even keep her in his body, but just the thought of it would make him slightly pale. When asked about the reason, Masonia had sheepishly explained that he always felt very fluttery when Sherry was inside his body and could feel her 'moving' around as she 'played' inside of his body...
Since the two would be together for thousands of years, Vahn knew his son would have to get used to Sherry's presence as, even if he ended up getting married, it was simply impossible for him to escape the clingy Dryad. He and Riveria had already talked about it and fully expected that Masonia and Sherry would probably end up together at some point and, though that was several years down the line, Vahn felt strangely proud of this firstborn son of his. Though he would educate Masonia about never biting off more than he could chew, a hard-learned lesson that he himself couldn't adhere to, Vahn still wanted his son to be a capable man who could make many girls happy.
---
Following up on his suspicion, Vahn ended up flying through the sky in a rather peculiar manner, this time with Loki riding on his back. Though they could have called Khaos to give them a lift, Loki had cackled madly before saying this would be her preferred method of travel in the future. She kept wiggling around on his back and trying to tease him, even going so far as to nibble on his ear and asked if he wanted to try and have sex in the sky. As a result, Vahn arrived at the Twilight Manor in record time, but not before giving in to Loki's teasing and returning the favor doubly so. By the time they reached the balcony outside her personal quarters, she couldn't even stand on her feet without his support, mumbling, "Cheater...that isn't fair..."
During the flight, Vahn had tossed Loki up in the air and flipped over so that he could catch her in his arms. The remaining flight had been both disorienting, as he zig-zagged through the sky, but he also gave her butt a 'deep tissue' massage that had turned her legs into jelly. Now, as she clung to him for support, Vahn reached around and pinched the slightly exposed flesh around the cutoff of her shorts, causing Loki to flinch as she wiggled to try and escape. With furrowed brows, she complained, "You always pinch my butt...I'm going to pinch something of yours if you keep getting carried away..." To this, Vahn 'lightly' pinched her butt again, smiling as he said, "Who is the one that once claimed that she was proud of her butt...? Can you blame me for wanting to sample such a tantali-"
Unable to finish his words, Vahn evaded Loki's attempt to grab at the area below his belt, quickly moving around behind her and giving her body a hug as she calmed down. They stayed like that for a while, Vahn sending waves of calming energy into her body, before Loki finally released a playful laugh and said, "Let's go. I'm sure that idiot you pawned off on me is getting some high-quality instruction around this time~." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation and since Loki had complained about her legs being sore, he ended up having to give her a piggyback ride as the members of the Loki Familia looked on with amused expressions on their faces. Some of them even went out of their way to try and greet him with a bow while Loki would periodically try to start conversations with random members.
Eventually, though Loki seemed to be in anything but a hurry at this point, Vahn ended up carrying the troublemaking goddess into an inner courtyard that was used as a training area. As if on some divine cue, their arrival in the training ground was marked by a white-haired boy spinning in a beautiful arc through the air as a trail of saliva coiled around his body like a work of art. Across from him was someone that Vahn hadn't quite expected to see, sending Loki a questioning gaze as she frowned and said, "This isn't the arrangement I made...Raul, I'm going to strangle that spineless brat~!"
Instead of Raul, who Loki had arranged to be Bell's teacher since he had just returned from Lil Geirr around a month ago, the person currently beating the young hero to a pulp was instead a beautiful Elven woman with muted gold hair and green eyes. This was none other than Alicia Forestlight, one of the main members of the 2nd Party of the Loki Familia, a skilled swordsman that was currently around the peak of Level 4. She was currently wearing her very stylish Adventurer attire, consisting of a muted pink-beige leather armor that ended in a skirt around her knees. There were ornately designed leather plates covering her abdomen, propping up her modest breasts, and covering her shoulders and neck. Her legs and arms had purple warmers that were similar in color to the belts, pouches, and sheath for her medium-length rapier. Completing the outfit, she had ornate boots that were adorned with gold motifs that matched the other hard leather sections of her armor. Overall, and this was an opinion Vahn had ever since their first meeting, she was a very beautiful and stylish Elven beauty.
Currently, Alicia had a very amused expression on her face as she beat Bell with her sheath while Line and Plum spectated from the side. Vahn noticed that Plum seemed very worried about Bell but it appeared that Line was enjoying the boy's suffering a little, at least until she saw their arrival. Alicia also noticed Vahn and Loki, her smile blooming into a more natural one as she said, "Vahn-sama, Loki-sama, it pleases me to see you. Did you come here for me, or did you have business with my foolish little apprentice~?"
Ever since he had married Riveria, Alicia had insisted on addressing him as 'sama', leaving no room for discussion as the amount of respect she had for Riveria wouldn't allow her to neglect such courtesy. After he made a big impact back in the Elven Kingdom, this became even more prevalent and, much like many Elven women, Alicia always had a very reverential look on her face when she saw Vahn. In fact, Loki had even teased him about it in the past, saying that all the Elves in her Familia wished he would extend his favor to them...
Vahn felt a little guilty that Alicia had simply turned away, leaving Bell sprawled on the ground as she now placed her full attention on him. Though she didn't have the (Love) bracket parameter, Alicia's Affection was currently sitting at 99(Exalted), a very common parameter he had been seeing pop up in those that had a great deal of respect and reverences towards him. She had even started to walk over to meet them halfway as if waiting for them to approach her would be an unacceptable affront, leaving Bell for Plum and Line to attend to.
After sending a glance towards Bell, who strangely seemed uninjured after getting knocked 10m from a hit to the face, Vahn smiled at Alicia and said, "We needed to confirm something with Bell about the Killer Ant Queen subjugation. Sorry for interrupting your training, Alicia...tell me, how has Bell been as a student?" To this, Alicia returned an even more radiant smile and said, "Ahhh, he is actually improving at a faster rate than anyone I've ever seen before. The only problem is, he had a tendency to 'slip' and...haaaa..." Just remembering the incident, Alicia didn't know if she should blush or vent her frustrations directly on Bell with her rapier.
Moments before Vahn and Loki had arrived, Bell managed to evade on her attacks and catch her off guard. She managed to disarm his weapon but that ended up knocking him off balance, allowing the airheaded boy to cop a feel of her chest before she sent him flying on instinct. The strange thing was, before Vahn arrived, she didn't really mind the small slip and it was only in hindsight that she felt bothered by it...after all, she, like most Elves, didn't allow people to touch them, especially in such an 'intimate' manner...
Even without Alicia explaining in greater detail, Vahn had a good idea what had happened and he couldn't help but look towards Bell like he was a very 'dangerous' existence. If Alicia had been behaving 'normally', she probably would have genuinely injured Bell for such an affront and harbored a small grudge towards him for the indeterminant future. However, Bell seemed to be able to avoid such repercussions and, much like how it had been in the manga, the boy was able to get away with things that would have earned any other man the ire of various women...
Loki also didn't really want her members being 'poached' by Bell passively so she asked Alicia to find someone skilled with daggers that could instruct Bell, preferably a male. Alicia, however, showed a slightly complicated expression and explained, "I had already agreed to train him...it would not be very dignified for me to go back on my word. Please, forgive me for this, Loki-sama..." In a very polite fashion, Alicia bowed with a slightly apologetic expression on her face. She didn't give her word easily and, once she had made a promise, it was her creed to follow it through till the end. Besides, or at least she was telling herself this, Bell hadn't 'intentionally' touched her breasts.
Feeling like Alicia was spiraling into a trap that had been machinated by fate, Vahn wasn't sure if he should help her avoid it or allow her to slowly fall for Bell. Given the boy's nature, he would actually be a pretty good man for her but, by the same machinations of fate, Alicia may be exposed to danger in order for Bell to 'grow' further. Since he wanted her to at least have more control over future developments, Vahn smiled and explained in a quiet voice, "He may not intend to do it, but Bell has the [Luck] Development Ability. Unless you're adamant about preventing it, those types of slips may happen occasionally, usually in situations where you wouldn't mind. Please, remember that as you're training and there shouldn't be any problems."
Alicia's eyes widened when she heard this, her long ears perking up slightly before realizing exactly what Vahn had just told her. She suddenly felt a little worried about training Bell but, with Vahn's warning, could at least prepare herself. The next time Bell made a 'slip', she would properly 'educate' him so that he learned to respect the boundaries of other people. At the same time, she resolved herself to not simply pass it off as an accident in the future and bowed at an even lower angle towards Vahn than she did her own goddess. Loki didn't seem to mind this and just snickered slightly as she leaned next to Alicia, whispering, "You know, Vahn might seem hard to approach at times, but he has a soft spot for Elves...trust me, his touch is something you'd never be able to forget. Even Riveria turns into a very 'honest' girl whenever she is with Vahn, you know~?"
For the first time since he had met her, Vahn watched as Alicia's ears began to waggle adorably as her face turned scarlet red. From the side, Bell saw this and also blushed slightly, muttering, "Cute..." in a small voice that was heard by both Line and Plum. The former, who had been applying a salve to some of Bell's wounds, suddenly poured the remaining contents onto his head while Plum, teary-eyed, complained, "Bell-sama, why are you looking at other girls all the time...Plum is broken-hearted..." This caused Bell, creamy white salve staining his face, to turn completely pale as he began trying to explain that it was a misunderstanding...
(A/N: Though Sunday is supposed to be my 'rest' day, I decided that I didn't release enough content yesterday and made an extra chapter for you to enjoy. And believe me, I'm not trying to bully Bell...I promise >:D...)
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bloody rain...','Unstoppable Godhand','Vahn never gets any breaks (>,...,<)~!')
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