Chương 1238: Preparations : Peculiarity
In preparation for the upcoming duel, Artoria began spending much of her free time training. She went on a small tirade of sorts, challenging everyone in the castle to battle, Vahn included. Though she was no worried about losing to Lorelei, her dignity as a ruler would not allow her to treat such an important matter carelessly. Until she claimed victory, she would continue making preparations with the intent of removing any possibility for failure, despite the machinations of the Barthomeloi family.
Vahn had underestimated Artoria's fervor but, what had shocked him most of all, was that she could even adapt to his [Laplace's Key] after 'forcing' him to use it against her several times. Though this often ended with her in a rather sorry state, making Vahn feel guilty, he continued battling against Artoria without holding anything back. She might be his Empress and lover but, much like Tsubaki, her pride as a warrior was something she would not renege on.
Now, once again, Vahn experienced his body's movements from the perspective of an observer as he kept a considerable distance from Artoria, teleporting around the battlefield as he peppered her with hypersonic projectiles. Since she had been able to annihilate nearly two-thirds of his body after he got close, his [Laplace's Key] seemed to have determined it wasn't wise to fight in her range. Though she was able to send massive beams out massive beams of light, cleaving through the landscape at almost unavoidable speeds, this didn't matter much when he could teleport around freely.
Artoria's effective range, when she was serious, could easily cover several tens of kilometers, making each of her attacks city-destroying in magnitude. If she charged her Noble Phantasm to its fullest, it was completely beyond his ability to block, even with several layers of [Reflexio] and the defense provided by his Xuanwu form. Since the attack moved nearly at light speed, he had to evade before she had completed her attack motion, an action that was much easier to complete at a distance.
What made Artoria a difficult opponent wasn't really her destructive capabilities, though they were certainly a large factor. No, the most troublesome thing about her was the fact that she seemed to have limitless stamina and, unless she used her [Excalibur] several times in sequence, her mana was seemingly just as limitless. Though he had already known this beforehand, as Artoria's dragon heart was essentially a mana generating factory, being on the receiving end of her barrage when she got serious was a pain. Since he knew this was still her 'restricted' capabilities, Vahn felt like this petite little wife of his was even more of a monster than himself...
Still, despite her best efforts, Artoria, and pretty much everyone else for that matter, was shocked to learn that her [Avalon] was virtually useless against him. Though the vast majority of the damage was still mitigated, turning even mountain-leveling attacks into ones that wouldn't even disturb a hill, it was an inviolable truth that his attacks still affected her. This was the result of his Source Energy not caring about the inviolable boundary produced by [Avalon]'s activation, allowing him to hit her body, despite it being located in a completely isolated texture on the Reverse Side of the World.
It was because of this capability that Artoria would drag him off to spar whenever he was free. It was to the point that, much like Gareth, she would even be waiting for him after he left his Training Orb or completed another task. Though she made it up to him later, in various ways, Vahn was reminded of how Ais and Tiona would behave at times, especially when they were on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. It was honestly fun to battle against her as it allowed him to measure his growth against opponents other than his demonic Shishou.
These battles also had a rather unexpected consequence, even though Vahn could have prophesied such a thing would happen. This took the form of Kenshin seeking him out and challenging him to a battle where he didn't hold anything back. Since he had never used [Laplace's Key] in their previous fights, as it almost polluted the integrity of battling against allies, Vahn was somewhat reluctant to agree. Despite this, he didn't show it on his face and, after a decidedly short battle, Kenshin was left in a rather sorry state.
From the outset of the battle, his [Laplace's Key] made the decision to create a hybridization of his Zhuque and Qinglong forms. This was a counter against the Anti-Divine properties of Kenshin's that also made it nearly impossible for her to close the distance between them. He was also able to make 'gates' in the surrounding space, allowing the heat from his Zhuque flames to essentially assault and cook her from all sides. Though she was surprisingly able to defend against this for a while, and even got a few attacks in on him by using the very gates he used against her, Kenshin's greatest weakness was her comparably low stamina.
By the end of their engagement, most of Kenshin's clothes had been burned to ash, leaving only her [Aegis X] to protect her dignity. Strangely, the first damage hadn't extended to her hair, despite the fact much of her body was covered in burns of various degrees. When he was healing her after the fact, Kenshin had a smile on her face as she commended his power. Rather than accept her words at face value, however, Vahn shook his head and promised he would defeat her without using a Skill that essentially turned him into a machine. He wanted to overcome her in an honorable battle, not a one-sided fight where he just used the most 'efficient' means to secure victory...
After this encounter, Kenshin had become decidedly more affectionate toward him and, though not nearly as often as his battles with Artoria, she began to proactive challenge him. These turned into battles of pure martial skill, often with several hundred Homunculi surrounding them. Since she had the [Master of Arms: SS], there was still a vast gulf between their capabilities but, after hardening his convictions, Vahn was determined to close the distance in months, rather than years.
---
Despite his schedule being dominated by battle, Vahn still made time to play with Mordred, Sakura, and the other children. Though it was a little strange to have nearly-matured girls like Mash excited to play games like hide-and-seek, tag, and other relatively childish games, Vahn never questioned it. He knew what the Designer Babies had gone through and, though children like Alex and Juliet did their own thing, it was refreshing to see Zoë, Astrid, and Mash breaking out of their shell. If anything, it was weirder that Gareth happily joined them but, considering her puppy-like behavior, he wasn't really surprised.
Fortunately, though they did not actively engage with the other children that much, Alex and Juliet both had their own interests and focus. Alex had started to emulate Siegfried quite a bit and, though he would get embarrassed easily when Mash and Zoë teased him, he was no longer the vengeful young boy that had arrived several months prior. As for Juliet, she had become very fond of one of her caretakers, to the point she called the motherly Homunculus just that, Mother. Now, Vahn could sometimes find them just spending time together, much like Iris and Illya, as Juliet focused on her education and, for reasons he was not privy to, focused on trying to become an attending Maid in the castle.
Since it was something she had decided on, Vahn wasn't going to go back on his words and deny the choice she had made about her own future. There was also the fact she looked simply adorable while following her Mother around in a child-sized Maid outfit. She was also taking her studies very seriously so, while her ambitions might be low, it was clear that she was making progress. A lot of this could be attested to Merlin's intervention but, as it was infinitely better than watching her live a life plagued by trauma, Vahn had become more tolerant of his errant Magus of the Court.
Vahn had come to learn even more about Merlin after discussing the matter of his association with Solon and Zelretch. Though he was somewhat remised to reveal the details, mentioning he would just ask Vivian was an easy way to get him to be truthful. He tried to actively avoid doing anything that would greatly upset her, something Vahn had come to exploit quite a bit. Since it made Merlin seem more 'human', it was rather refreshing to know he had an easily exploitable weakness.
From Merlin, Vahn learned that Solon's current form is not their original self. Though he had already suspected this, for a variety of different reasons, it was always best to know for certain. This was only the beginning of Solon's peculiarity, however, as Merlin described them as something that should not exist, much like Astolfo's Hippogryph and himself. Solon was the product of a child being thrown into the 'Well of Fate', associated with the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Solon was born during the era when most of the Gods had begun their retreat to the Reverse Side of the World During this time, Yggdrasil, a very powerful Greater Divine Spirit, actually sacrificed itself to become the foundation for one of the many regions located on the Reverse Side. Before that, it had split its own Divinity into several shards, one of which had been granted to Solon to preserve their life. This, however, did not save Solon from the Well of Fate as, during the Great Transmigration, the Guardian of the Well, Urd, had left the well unattended.
For several years, Solon experienced a nightmare beyond their infant mind's comprehension. They were forced to drown within the Well of Fate, experiencing memories that were not their own as they cycled through varying levels of unconsciousness. It wasn't until the Well of Fate itself dried up, no longer able to sustain itself after the World Tree had died, that they were finally freed. After that, they wandered for years without any direction nor sense of self as their mind tried to reconcile all of the different sets of memories that had invaded their psyche.
It was not known what Solon had done for all the years they wandered, as it was nearly impossible to decipher their fate, but they were eventually picked up by Zelretch. This made it even harder to know exactly what had happened but, from what Merlin could ascertain, Solon had been left in the care of the Wandering Sea at some point. As a source of Mystery related to the Age of Gods, their existence was extremely important to the nascent Mage's Association. Here, they spent nearly seven-hundred years of their life before eventually leaving for unknown reasons around 40AD.
From that moment onward, Solon had taken up residence in a small fishing village simply known as Landon which, decades later, became known as the city of Londinium. Here, they began building up the organization known as the Clock Tower though, back then, it was known as the Temple of the Sun due to the massive sundial used to keep time. It wasn't until much later, after the construction of the Palace of Westminister and Big Ben that the Clock Tower became known as such.
There were many unknowns regarding Solon, due to their nature of isolating themselves, but Merlin had come to know the peculiar Magus shortly after his own birth. They had something of a 'tense' relationship and, in the beginning, Solon had even tried to capture and imprison him after realizing he was an existence akin to a Beast of Gaia.
By all rights, Merlin should have been one of mankind's greatest enemies but, due to the love he experienced prior to birth, he had always been quite fond of humanity. Rather than sow discord and cause chaos, he observed the flow of fate passively, only interfering when he was meant to. Despite this, Solon did not trust him and, if not for the intervention of Zelretch, a large-scale conflict could have broken out. As for why Solon hated him back in the day, it was due to the fact that Merlin knew of their past and, despite the bravado of the errant hermit, he also knew that a battle would never happen due to his prophetic abilities.
Because Merlin knew nothing would happen, he acted very lackadaisically around Solon and, more than he should have, teased them incessantly. Merlin was actually one of the reasons why Solon now covered themselves in powerful artifacts as, for a period of time, Merlin would even show up in their dreams. Back then, he showed a lot less restraint with his abilities as, prior to Artoria's birth, he didn't have much else to do other than observe humanity and mess around.
When Vahn learned that Merlin had 'tormented' Solon for the better part of six years, he actually felt a little sorry for the green-haired Magus. If not for the fact they were borderline intolerable, due to a severe lack of social skills, Vahn would have been tempted to apologize for how he had acted in the past. Still, it was interesting to know more about the mysterious Director of the Mage's Association so Vahn had enjoyed the conversation, laughing more than he should have when Melin showed him the scene of Solon being chased through an endless field of flowers by a giant purple caterpillar.
Unfortunately, while Merlin had quite a bit of information pertaining to Solon, he knew very little about Zelretch, despite the nature of his existence as the Second Mage. Since Zelretch had no fate whatsoever, it was impossible to see into his past, present, and future. He could even exist outside the flow of time completely, observing the events of history play out from an outsider's point of view, much like Akasha and her superiors.
Though Zelretch could be killed, Merlin had noted the man's presence in several of his visions of the future, including distant events several tens of thousands of years down the line. It was impossible to know if these were 'their' Zelretch, as different versions of could also travel into parallel worlds, but that had been changed after Vahn's arrival. Now, the only Zelretch associated with their timeline was the one Vahn had met at the Mage's Association. Though it was possible for him to transition into a parallel timeline, all fates currently led to a convergence point, the emergence of Angra Mainyu.
Now, instead of being able to freely move throughout history, Zelretch was stuck on the path that Vahn had set the world upon. Though he would have some freedom after Angra Mainyu was taken care of, there would undoubtedly be other convergence points as a result of Vahn's actions. After all, the past was 'fixed' due to his presence within the timeline, meaning other realties and potentialities simply ceased to exist. It was a peculiar, borderline terrifying thought, but that was just the nature of reality in a multiversal world structure that functioned akin to a simulation.
Vahn's existence introduced 'certainty' into the world but, rather than restrict its growth, he actually allowed for new potentialities and for the existence of various, previously impossible, possibilities. It was even possible for the Record itself to grow beyond Tier 5 due to his presence, even if this would take potentially billions, or even trillions, of years. Unless he was the one to proactive elevate it, the current Tier 5 existences would have a very difficult time reaching the next Tier. After all, they had existed for such a phenomenally long period of time that, despite the potential for infinite growth, they were essentially stuck in an unbreakable cycle due to the restrictions of the Laws.
At this point, Vahn was already thinking about linking the Nasuverse in the future, as this had now become a second home to him. It might be irresponsible of him but, as his Tier increased, Vahn had the distinct impression there were innumerable solutions to the current problems that plagued him. After all, if he had the power to create his own Records, there wasn't much he couldn't do at that point. Extracting a few people from an existing Record, while allowing it to stay isolated, shouldn't be beyond his capabilities.
This was a matter for the far future, however, so Vahn tried not to mull over it too often as it might take him millions of years to reach that point. Instead, he chose to focus on the present as much as possible, even if it sometimes led to him asking peculiar questions, such as the gender of Solon. He hadn't been able to determine this even after battling directly against the peculiar Magus and, since Merlin had tormented them for the better part of six years, he expected the flowery Magus to know the answer.
What Vahn hadn't expected was for Merlin to outright state that Solon didn't have a gender. Though there could be other reasons, he speculated that Solon's confusion regarding the nature of their own existence made it impossible for them to reconcile their own gender. It was impossible to be certain, but Solon likely had the memories of millions of people, both male and female, locked away within their mind. He even speculated that the reason Solon isolated themselves was due to their confusion as, despite what gender they chose to adopt, it would cause them to live a life plagued by perpetual incongruity.
Though Merlin had tried to help them in the past, which was why he had 'tormented' Solon for so long, this only resulted in some bad blood between them due to their prideful nature. More than that, however, it was very likely that Solon was afraid to discover that their current self was just one of their personas while, in the deepest recesses of their mind, their true self had been locked away.
Despite all of this, Merlin did actually know Solon's original gender, much like Zelretch, but neither had ever touched on the subject. After all, the infante Solon hadn't formed a sense of self and, after becoming a Divine Spirit and absorbing the memories of countless individuals, they were a far cry from their original human existence.
Unfortunately, when Vahn's curiosity got the better of him, compelling him to ask what Solon's original gender was, Merlin refused to answer. Instead, he adopted a very punchable smile on his face as he answered, "If it is that important to you, why not decide what gender you want Solon to be? Though others might not be able to pull it off, someone with your level of...experience, might be able to convince them to lean either way~? They certainly match your 'requirements' when it comes to selecting partners, ohohohoho~"
Following his teasing remark, Merlin tried to vanish away, his laughter still echoing throughout his Magus Tower. In response, Vahn rose to his feet, a calm visage on his face as he plainly stated, "I'm telling." This immediately caused Merlin's laughter to stop but, before he could make a plea bargain, Vahn had already teleported away, presumably to inform Vivian and Artoria about Merlin's behavior. Though he didn't actually intend to tell, as that would violate his original agreement with Merlin, this left the flowery Magus in an anxious state for several minutes...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Artoria be like, "We gon fite! Excalibuuuuuuur~!"','RIP Solon','Everyone has a weakness xD...')
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Chương 1239: Effort
With Nobunaga due any day now, Vahn found himself idling in her room with increasing frequency. He didn't particularly mind her teasing but, now that the day was approaching, Nobunaga began to mellow out a bit and just let him pamper her obediently.
Currently, Vahn was helping her bathe by wiping down her body with a sponge before lathering up her extremely long hair and helping to rinse. She, like many of the other pregnant women, had a slight phobia regarding accidentally slipping in the bath so the entire floor had been coated with a porous rubbery material, courtesy of Da Vinci.
More often than not, Kenshin or Mordred would be the one to help Nobunaga bathe but, when he had the time to spare, Vahn would dutifully offer his services. He enjoyed the intimacy and, though she might not admit it openly, it was obvious that Nobunaga felt the same way. She would entrust herself to him completely, allowing him to treat her like a delicate princess rather than the powerful woman she presented herself as.
While laying back and allowing Vahn to run a gentle stream of water through her hair, Nobunaga had lazy eyes as she looked toward nothing in particular, saying, "I was thinking about naming our son Kamiya..."
Since this wasn't the first time Nobunaga had brought up the name of their child, Vahn wasn't too surprised. Instead, he just smiled before musing, "That sounds like a wonderful name...it is a bit on the nose though, don't you think...?"
Hearing Vahn's retort, Nobunaga began to laugh mischievously as her crimson-red eyes came into focus on his face. Though the name could mean many things, depending on the origin, Nobunaga intended it to be a play on the fact that Vahn was, even without Divinity, a God. Since Kaminya could translate to 'Son of God', 'God's Angel', and 'Bearer of God's Will', she felt it would be fitting. In the past, she had thought about using the traditional naming convention but, finding a name that went with the surname 'Mason' produced some rather strange results.
With a smile spreading across her face, Nobunaga asked, "Did you prefer Kamihide...or perhaps Kamishiro...? We could also name him Jōshin or Shintaro...hmmm~?"
Nobunaga was determined to include a Kanji related to God in their son's name, both due to the nature of Vahn's existence and the fact his name translated to 'God is Gracious'. Since she followed the tradition that children should be named after their father, Nobunaga wouldn't relent on it. Even she and her siblings had all been named a variation of 'Nobu', such as Nobuhiro, Nobuyuki, and Kobukane, so she was compelled to carry on the tradition.
Knowing it was impossible to change her mind, Vahn just stole a kiss from Nobunaga's lips before commenting, "I think Kamiya is fine...the name Kamiya Mason flows smoothly when spoken aloud..."
Though she tried to playfully bite him as he retreated, Nobunaga wasn't upset that Vahn had taken liberties with her. Instead, she followed up by licking her lips and turning her eyes up at him in a way he had grown accustomed to. Since he knew what she wanted, Vahn obediently leaned down to kiss her, this time taking things a little further...
---
By the time Vahn left Nobunaga, his body temperature had risen and, though it was manageable, his tensions had increased considerably. Despite Nobunaga being in her stable period, she, like many of the other pregnant women, had banned sex. This gave her the confidence to tease him as much as she wanted and, though he knew it would cause him quite a bit of frustration, Vahn dutifully played along. After all, it was only a matter of time before he collected upon the debt she had been building over the last eight and a half months...
After stepping out of the room, Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself before giving a nod toward Gareth and saying, "Let's go." She immediately gave a cheerful salute before falling in step, the same characteristic smile on her face as usual. If you looked closely, however, it was possible to see a light flush on Gareth's face, accompanying her usual blush. Vahn was aware of this but he didn't comment on it since this was usually how she acted before their training began.
Unlike when they first started out, Vahn now took Gareth to his personal Training Orb as, in the past, a few small incidents had occurred. This included groups of Homunculi gathering and, after their sessions became common, Mordred had started to pester him quite a bit. He didn't mind helping out in their training, of course, but it was very awkward to have an audience when he was tempering Gareth's Magic Circuits and helping improve the quality of her Od.
Ever since the first incident, Mordred would ask him to help temper her own Magic Circuits. This led to Sakura also making a similar request so, fearing Mash and others would shortly follow suit, Vahn had moved Gareth's training to his private Orb. Though this had led to 'other' complications, he was able to avoid distractions and focus on Gareth's progress. Since Scáthach would also appear to give advice, or simply observe, it ended up being the best solution before things developed into a bigger issue.
The only real downside, if it could even be called that, was that Gareth had grown increasingly bold as time passed. Though it might be more accurate to say she had become less inhibited, it was very obvious she wanted something 'more' in this relationship. Curiously, this didn't have anything to do with sex, at least for the time being. Instead, Gareth just wanted to experience general skinship and be praised when she did well, almost as if she didn't fully understand what lay beyond the path she was walking down...
Though he would normally avoid letting his thoughts wander, Vahn was in an 'open-minded' state due to Nobunaga's teasing so it was harder than normal. Gareth also seemed to be perceptive to the fact he was paying more attention to her as, rather than keep her usual distance, she would always linger a bit closer to him during such situations. Then, once they reached the Training Orb, she didn't waste much time before shimmying out of her clothes and folding them up neatly before presenting them to him for storage.
After parting with her clothing, Gareth was left wearing nothing but her [Aegis X], taking on a form similar to a skin-tight sport's bra and spats. This made her athletic figure very apparent, though not as much as her shapely breasts, toned butt, and plump thighs. Though they weren't that noticeable in her normal attire, the result of Gareth wearing boyish clothing and acting in an innocent nature, it was undeniable that she was a woman when viewed like this.
Showing no apprehension whatsoever, only trust, Gareth had a radiant smile on her face as she sat down on the ground and began to hum an upbeat, cheerful, tune. Vahn took his usual seat behind her and, for the best part of two hours, he silently channeled a gentle flow of Source Energy into her body. This would cause her skin to flush a considerable amount and, by the time a few minutes had passed, Gareth would also fall silent as she began to focus on the energy. It was a very comfortable sensation and, if she focused hard enough, it was possible to discern where her Master was sending the energy.
Gareth had made a habit of trying to follow the flow of energy, both as a result of Vahn's guidance and her own curiosity. When it would flow around specific areas, she would feel a tingling sensation that caused her face and body to heat up so she had become quite fond of the process. Though this would also make her feel strangely frustrated, it made their following training more productive since she would do her best to sooth the peculiar urges emerging within her body. She was a little worried that the urges were becoming too strong but, as her own strength was rapidly increasing, Gareth felt this was perfectly natural.
Unaware of the peculiar way in which Gareth interpreted the tempering process, Vahn brought the procedure to an end once the interior of her body was suffused with a slight rainbow hue. He knew she was also more than a little 'excited' but this could always be dealt with by moving her body and exerting herself during training. Since he had the same thing in mind for treating his own symptoms, Vahn lightly tapped her back to break Gareth from her reverie as he said, "It's time for training. Your body is already warmed up but you should stretch a bit before we go."
Without wasting any time, Gareth immediately sprung to her feet, leaving an imprint of moisture on the smooth stone that took on the shape of her butt. Though it was nearly invisible against the white stone, Vahn's perception betrayed him at times like this. Fortunately, Gareth didn't seem to notice his eyes squinting slightly as she began to stretch her body for a bit before lining up next to him. Once she was ready, the two began using [Shundo], aiming for a marker that was precisely 100km from their starting point.
Vahn could easily reach the marker in a few quick steps but, with her own [Shundo] being E-Rank, Gareth struggled to cover more than a kilometer's distance at a time. Her reserves and control were also lacking so one of her primary challenges, at least during this part of her training, was to reach the marker in less than one-hundred steps. This required her to push beyond her limits and, for the last few weeks, Gareth had been unable to reach the goal, despite her best efforts.
While Gareth was executing her [Shundo], Vahn perfectly matched her pace by sensing where she made her anchor points and creating his own next to them. This encouraged Gareth to try her best as, from start to finish, he would be observing her progress and form. Once she was finished, Vahn would give her an evaluation based on her performance and, as long as she tried her hardest, Gareth knew she would be rewarded for her efforts. It was with this assurance in mind that she would push herself far beyond her limits, sometimes tearing tendons and breaking bones in the process.
Though he had tried to curb her over-eager nature in the past, Vahn quickly realized the only way to do so was to stop giving her the rewards she wanted. He had tried to supplement this by providing her with food and other kinds of rewards but, as if she was a puppy abandoned by its owner, Gareth had been in a borderline depressive state during the three days he had used these methods. She had even gone to Fenrir for advice, asking if she had done something wrong that upset him, rather than coming to him to discuss the matter.
After this incident, Vahn got a short lecture from Fenrir about not bullying people that were trying their hardest, leaving Vahn at a loss before he ultimately relented. He should have known better than to treat Gareth in such a way, especially with her bestial traits. She was much like a Chienthrope so, after he had pet her the first time, it was too late to rely on other forms of praise. In her mind, there was only 'more' petting at stake and, though she certainly appreciated other things, it was like giving a bundt cake to someone whose favorite dessert was cheesecake.
Vahn knew he had the option of putting his foot down and properly discipline her but, seeing how hard Gareth worked, he didn't really have the heart to. Even now, she had a fiery conviction in her eyes and, despite stumbling after executing her 83rd [Shundo], Gareth instantly climbed to her feet. He could see that the muscles in her legs and thighs were straining themselves to the limit but, as if the pain only fueled her onward, Gareth squared up her feet before executing another [Shundo]. She didn't even hesitate for a single moment to push her body even further, causing Vahn to feel pain on her behalf...
By the time Gareth executed her 90th [Shundo], there were still more than 20km left to the marker, a giant pillar of red stone, in the distance. Her legs were so sore that they had started to swell and turn a reddish-purple color. At the same time, her body was covered in a dense layer of sweat, giving her slightly tanned skin a glossy sheen which periodically cascaded, pooling at her chin and nose before dripping to the ground below. Despite this, she managed to stay upright and, after gritting her teeth, Gareth executed her 91st [Shundo], pushing her focus and body even further beyond her limits.
This time around, Vahn finished his [Shundo] before Gareth so, by the time she reached her anchor point, he was able to catch her in his arms. He noticed the adductor muscles of her left thigh tense beyond their limits, causing them to strain and tear. This could only end with Gareth tumbling to the ground and, regardless of her will to continue, even standing would be impossible for her until the injury could be treated.
Without minding the location of her injury, Vahn placed his palm on the interior of Gareth's left thigh and began to send a warm stream of energy into the area to mend the torn muscles. This caused her to release a hot and relieved sigh, clearly discernible despite the fact she was breathing heavily. Vahn slightly rolled his eyes when he heard this before lightly patting Gareth's head and saying, "You did well, Gareth...now breathe..." Though he wanted to comment on her form, as she was putting too much stress on her legs, this was something that could be addressed later.
Though she was in too much pain to form any words, Gareth managed a pained smile while focusing on her breathing. It was a lot harder than normal to regulate as, despite having her head pat, Gareth was more focused on the startlingly hot palm near her inner thigh. Still, she obediently listened to his words and did her best to resist the urge to close and rub her thighs together. This was made easier by focusing on the petting but, unlike how they would normally just perk up a bit, Gareth's dog-like ears had a very distinct 'twitch' to them.
To counteract Gareth's excitement, Vahn sent a flow of calming energy into her mind before pulling away his left hand once she had been healed enough to stand. He didn't miss the fact her eyes had followed his hand when he removed it but, rather than take advantage of the situation, Vahn helped her stand before they jogged the rest of the way to the marker. This was to give them both time to calm down as, with the replenishment of her reserves, Gareth's injuries would quickly heal while her stamina gradually recovered.
Due to her distracted state of mind, Gareth nearly bumped into Vahn's back when he came to a stop but, with her quick reflexes, she managed to perform an impromptu spin to evade him. This caused him to raise his brow at her, earning an embarrassed laugh from Gareth as she rubbed the back of her head and said, "I'm sorry, Master...I got a little distracted...ehehehe~." Then, seeing the deadpan look on his face, Gareth quickly became more serious, albeit after slapping her cheeks twice to calm down.
Though it looked like a red pillar from the distance, the true form of the marker was a massive spear that was more than 10m wide and 70m tall, above ground. The rest of the spear had penetrated into the ground, forming a crater that wouldn't lose out to the destruction caused by Karna. It had come into existence during one of his spars with Scáthach and, though she could have dissipated it easily, Vahn had asked her to leave it due to its impressive size and the suppressive force it created in the surroundings.
Around the vicinity of the spear, it was almost impossible to channel mana and, if a Magus were to stay near it for a long period of time, they would eventually lose consciousness if their control was lacking. This made it an ideal place for physical training as, with the density of the space being close to five times the normal amount, even breathing was a laborious task.
Since Gareth's Strength and Endurance could also be improved upon, Vahn guided her through the same training regimen that Tsubaki and Jeanne had developed for the Valkyries back in Danmachi. It was designed to universally strengthen the body without breaking its balance. This was necessary for someone like Gareth as, while her foundation wasn't exactly weak, she relied too much on her speed and equipment. Without proper armaments, she experienced a significant reduction in her combat capabilities so, as his Page, Vahn was determined to free her from this reliance.
For the better part of four hours, Vahn guided Gareth through a slow and arduous routine of posing her body in specific forms. Tsubaki referred to these poses as the 'Observations', forms that emulate nature. Since there were very few named martial arts in Danmachi, the only thing that mattered was refining an evolving style that allowed your body to adapt to any situation. This required you to have a perfect balance between form, flexibility, and speed. When these three things were combined, you would be able to muster an explosive strength that, when harnessed properly, was comparable to a [Mana Burst].
Gareth had trouble matching these forms at first as, despite being female, she had been lacking in flexibility. Though her legs had been 'very' flexible, as they seemed to be the most developed part of her body, this had caused a significant imbalance in her core and upper body strength. Now, after a few months of hard training, she was able to copy most of the forms he taught her after putting in an extreme amount of effort. This wasn't simply due to her hard-working nature, however, as Gareth had been genuinely shocked to learn that she was less flexible than him.
Now, even when Vahn twisted his body passed ninety degrees and bent back like a bow, Gareth was able to emulate his form, albeit with significant strain. She had yet to adapt to the increased pressure so, even more so than when she had been using [Shundo] earlier, her body was completely covered in sweat. Every time they changed forms, she would send small beads of sweat outward which, due to the increased density of Space within the area, appeared to move in slow motion. This created a peculiar and rather inspiring sight but, other than giving her advice and complimenting her form, Vahn did his best not to be distracted as he focused on his own form...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'It's a boi (OoO)!?','No bulli...!','Fight on, Gareth-chan~!')
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