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42.19% Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos / Chapter 993: Chill

章節 993: Chill

Having learned to trust his instincts, Vahn entered into a state of passive alertness that, over time, spread to everyone else within the party. Fenrir had sensed the small 'shift' early on so she had been paying even more attention to her surroundings than normal while Jeanne changed her tactic from fighting at close range to eliminating enemies in the mid-range with her light-based sword strikes. Though it used up a considerable amount of energy compared to normal attacks, almost every monster within the Dungeon was weak to Light Elemental attacks, making each of Jeanne's sword attacks highly effective against every enemy that crossed her path. She was only able to fight this way because of Vahn's assistance, though he avoided direct contact with her body, resulting in their pace increasing nearly twice what it had been previously.

In their heightened state of awareness, it didn't take long for the group to reach an area of the Dungeon where a massive set of stairs led even deeper into its depths. The problem was, instead of being an unoccupied set of stairs, the massive spiral chamber ended up being converted into a veritable colony of the same Dungeon Maggots the group wanted to avoid. Vahn had been inspecting the area with his ability to 'move' his intent around, managing to probe deep into the colony without drawing attention, so he was able to confirm that their presence even extended partially into the 76th Floor. It seemed that the Queen of this specific colony was making use of the increased mana density of the lower Floor in order to further strengthen her evolution.

After pulling back his intent, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation before saying, "The way forward is blocked by an incalculable amount of Dungeon Maggots. They have rooted themselves deeply into the surrounding walls and even have a presence as far as the 76th Floor. We'll need to break through by force or find an alternative way through..." Though it actually wasn't that difficult for them to reach the 76th Floor, regardless of how many Dungeon Maggots there were, it could still a troublesome affair in the event anything went wrong. As weak as they were individually, the Dungeon Maggots still posed a threat to even Level 7 and 8 Adventurers in great numbers. Unless you had an Innate that allowed you to resist the noxious fumes and the extremely potent acidic blood contained within their bodies, you would undoubtedly be overwhelmed if you tried to break through an entire colony.

Undaunted by the enemies that barred their passage, Fenrir showed a decisive expression on her face as her ears pointed backward in an aggressive manner. With a small wisp of Ice Elemental energy coagulating within her paws, she confidently stated, "I can freeze them all...!" She was still a bit fired up after the encounter with the One-Eyed Black Dragon, causing Vahn to produce a wry smile as he gave a small nod and turned to Jeanne for her opinion. Much like Fenrir, she had a resolute look on her face that showed absolutely no inhibitions about proceeding forward, irrespective of potential dangers. When he looked over at her, Jeanne gave a confident nod before hefting her sword and shield as she said, "If you will it, I will cut a path through the entire colony. I only ask that you protect Helen while I am away..."

Though others might have to show caution when facing a colony of Dungeon Maggots, Jeanne was one of the few who actually possessed the capabilities to do so without concern. Even if she had to bathe in the acidic blood of her enemies until she was completely submerged, she would inevitably emerge unscathed. The same couldn't be said for her armor but, now that she had the 'quick storage' system that had become popular amongst the girls within the Manor, Jeanne could strip down to nothing more than her Aegis undergarments before cutting a path forward without having to worry about damaging her other equipment. Though the complex fabric couldn't without nearly as much abuse as actual armor, it provided more than enough protection against acid to guarantee that Jeanne's dignity wouldn't be compromised.

Just as Vahn was about to inform Jeanne that it would be unnecessary for her to break through on her own, Helen chose this moment to give her friend a slightly questionable look before simply stating, "Can Vahn not simply bore through the Dungeon's Floor with his own power? Why do we need to use the stairs at all...?" Until now, Helen hadn't placed any real interest in the Dungeon and had simply been following along to observe what action Vahn would take. Since he had easily broken through the Dungeon with his Qinglong form, she knew he was more than capable of breaking through once again. Instead of fighting tens of thousands of troublesome enemies, she believed it was far more efficient to avoid conflict and simply take the most 'direct' route.

Since his intentions aligned with what Helen had in mind, Vahn's open mouth came to a close as he sent a slightly annoyed look in the immaculate beauty's direction. Her own brows furrowed slightly in response to his look but she quickly returned to her default expression before averting her eyes, seemingly in disinterest. Vahn shook his head lightly upon seeing this before matching his gaze with Fenrir and Jeanne as he said, "Though I was going to suggest much the same, Helen is right in her analysis of the situation. I believe it is better to proceed through the Dungeon using the established paths but, as we have the power to avoid direct conflict, there shouldn't be anything wrong with breaking through troublesome situations like this without wasting our time>"

Without any argument, though Fenrir seemed slightly downtrodden after having lost the chance to fight against a large number of enemies, both girls quickly agreed to Vahn's decision. As a result, Vahn performed a partial transformation by converting his right arm into his Zhuque form and directing pure Yang Elemental flames towards the ground. Even though the bedrock was far more durable at these depths, it wasn't able to hold up against the purity of Vahn's flames as they were the natural counter to the Dungeon's composition. The ground quickly turned into a white puddle of molten stone that became progressively brighter until, two minutes after his initiating his 'attack', the puddle began to sink inwards. Vahn had forcibly heated the bedrock in a cylindrical shape that reached all the way to the 76th Floor. As a result, once it had completely liquidized, the bedrock began to drain away into the Floor below before slowly cooling down and regaining its slightly crystalline look.

After boring a hole through to the next Floor, Vahn focused his mind and began to manipulate the ambient Fire Elemental energy to return to his body, causing the surrounding temperature to rapidly drop as a result. Though it wouldn't have any significant effects on anyone present, Vahn had noticed that Fenrir had grown uncomfortable with the increased presence of Fire Elemental energy, her primary affinity's natural counter. Jeanne and Helen also seemed to relax a great deal as the surrounding temperature reached a cool 10 degrees Celsius. There was even a breeze flowing through the normally stagnant Dungeon as the rather large hole he had formed caused a backdraft of sorts that continued to persist for several minutes after he had successfully penetrated through the dense membrane of bedrock.

Once it was 'safe' to proceed, Vahn gave a small nod before unhesitantly jumping down the 740m deep hole he had created. Even before he had descended ten meters, Fenrir had leaped after him, hugging her paws around his neck as the two fell together into the Dungeon's depths. As for Helen and Jeanne, the latter looked towards her long-time friend before shifting her kite shield to her back and holding out both arms. Helen gave a rare, albeit light, smile before allowing Jeanne to carry her in a princess hold before the two followed quickly in Vahn's wake...

After free-falling into the 76th Floor, Vahn quickly decelerated before coming to a stop a few centimeters above the ground. Fenrir didn't immediately let go of him as the two waited for Jeanne and Helen to finish their own descent. When Vahn saw the rather chivalrous Jeanne carrying Helen in her arms, his brows naturally arced in surprise but he ultimately chose to remain silent since there were no real benefits from commenting on the rather peculiar scene. Once Helen was back on her own two feet, Vahn gave a light smile towards Jeanne before saying, "This Floor shouldn't be as difficult to pass through as the previous one. Let's see if we can't find a passage leading downwards in the next few hours. If it starts to get too late, I'll bore another hole to the 77th Floor so we can take a proper rest before moving on."

In response to Vahn's words, Jeanne unsheathed her sword and shield before confidently saying, "You can leave it to Fenrir and myself, Vahn. We won't let a single enemy through our vanguard!" For seemingly no reason, Jeanne was now even more fired up than before, causing Vahn to give Helen a questioning look that resulted in the latter immediately averting her eyes. On instinct, Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see if he could discern anything and, though it was only a very minuscule amount, he could see a small wisp of pale blue energy now circulating through Jeanne's body. This was undoubtedly the same energy that permeated through Helen's entire body, causing Vahn's eyes to flicker as his mind quickly made sense of the newly acquired information...

Instead of pursuing the matter, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Helen's excitement before allowing her to take the lead this time while Fenrir continued to ride on his back for a short while. There weren't any particularly dangerous enemies on this Floor so she was behaving a little more spoiled than normal, likely as a result of Vahn's current physical state. Since he had been 'tending' to Terra back at the Manor, Vahn's avatar was also in a slightly more 'active' state than normal. Though he wasn't producing any pheromones that could be picked up by a normal Demi-Human, Fenrir was always an exception to this. Her bond with him allowed her to be influenced by his mental and emotional state, even if it was only an 'echo' of what his main body was experiencing.

Without incident, it only took a little more than two hours before Vahn's party managed to reach a large circular pond that became exponentially deeper just three meters away from the shore. Unlike the Floors above, which were either connected by relatively safe stairs or pathways, the Dungeon didn't seem to be willing to make things easy for its 'invaders' in the deeper Floors. This was the thought that crossed Vahn's mind as he observed the pristine blue water that extended nearly a kilometer downward before looping backward and connecting into a larger chamber. The most peculiar feature of this 'corridor' was the fact that the water would deposit them around the roof while the water itself seemed to defy the laws of physics as it clung to the roof, mirroring the massive pond they were about to enter...

Turning his eyes away fro the pond for a short while, Vahn observed the surroundings for a bit before eventually gathering up enough resolve to, quite literally, test the waters. He already knew there was something 'off' with the crystal-clear liquid but, even after using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn wasn't able to discern exactly what was wrong with it. When his palm touched the surface, however, Vahn quickly got his answer as, instead of giving away like normal water, the surface tension seemed several times higher than normal while the temperature was well below what should have been considered the freezing point of actual water. Much like the small 'stars' he would make, the 'water' before him didn't actually give off any energy so it was impossible to discern just how cold it was without directly coming into contact with it.

This momentary contact provided Vahn with a great deal of insight into what the future of the Dungeon would hold for him as, even though he couldn't make complete sense of the phenomenon, he understood that he was witnessing the pure manifestation of Water Elemental Laws. There was a large amount of what should have been Yin Elemental energy contained within, making it very difficult for his natural constitution to tolerate, but that wouldn't matter now that he understood what exactly was before him. As for the others, Jeanne showed a slightly concerned expression on her face as she said, "Please, my Lord, allow me to go first and test the water with my own body. I am confident I will be able to tolerate whatever awaits me on the other side...!"

After having seen Vahn's hand practically freeze over after contacting the water, Jeanne felt it was only right that she be the one to proceed forward so that it wouldn't trouble him further. She wasn't the only one with such a train of thought, however, as Fenrir didn't even bother to ask for permission as she quickly dove into the water. With her natural affinities for Yin, Ice, and Water Elemental energies, she was the most aware of the dangers contained within the water but, instead of fearing its effects, her blood practically boiled with excitement. Vahn, knowing it wouldn't have any detrimental effects on Fenrir's body, made no effort to stop her as he instead activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see what changes might occur now that a person had fully submerged in the large and pristine pond.

Immediately after Fenrir had broken through the water's surface tension, the previously crystal clear pond seemed to rapidly ice over as a small amount of the Yin Elemental energy contained without spread through the surroundings. Jeanne and Helen both felt extremely comfortable, even though the temperature immediately descended to negative 5 degrees Celsius, while Vahn's body felt like it had become suffused with lead. In response to this, the 'eternal flame' in his chest began to rage as it flickered about and caused the energy contained within his blood to increase several-fold in a short period of time. Vahn, however, placed his hand over his heart to calm the flame down as he began to regulate his breathing and absorb the Yin Elemental energy directly, his eyes never leaving the figure of Fenrir beneath the surface...

Contrary to Vahn, Helen paid no attention to Fenrir as her runic eyes instead reflected the changes occurring to Vahn's body. Most of her attention in the Dungeon, even when she was 'ignoring' him, had been directed towards Vahn. When he began to absorb the Yin Elemental energy, not that she knew what it was, Helen had noticed that his complexion immediately shifted from a healthy tan into a pristine and unblemished white. His hair gained a light sheen, almost as if he had treated it with a small amount of rejuvenating oils, while even his eyelashes seemed to extend slightly. Though he had always been rather handsome, Helen felt as if Vahn was beginning to become 'beautiful' as the profile of his body seemed to shrink within his clothes...

Though he hadn't directed the change, Vahn noticed how his body was reacting to the excessive Yin energy and was slightly taken aback by the fact that he couldn't maintain a proper balance without 'dominating' the energy with his own. Since it was the energy of Law, combined with the fact he hadn't 'resisted' it, Vahn found that his body was adapting far too quickly to the invasive force and there wasn't too much he could do about it. Fortunately, just as he gained a few inhibitions about the changes happening, Vahn felt the Yin energy mellow out slightly before seemingly turning as calm as the pond before him. He noticed that his body had become decidedly more feminine in appearance but, fortunately, the effects hadn't completely taken hold so he was able to keep his 'dignity' intact.

Noticing Helen's gaze, Vahn gave a wry smile in response that caught Jeanne's attention. She had been watching Fenrir with a look of regret on her face but, after seeing what had happened to her 'Lord', Jeanne no longer cared about her companion's relative safety as she quickly came to his side and, exclaiming, "My Lord, what happened to you...!?" Though she would normally never touch him, Jeanne, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, concernedly placed her hand on Vahn's shoulder before concernedly patting around his body. Vahn quickly grabbed her errant hand, holding Jeanne by the wrist as he coughed embarrassedly and explained, "Relax, Jeanne. My body absorbed a bit too much of the energy contained within the pond and went through some small changes. Don't worry, I will return to normal after we pass through the pond..."

Realizing how uncouth her actions had been, Jeanne's face became beet red as she quickly pulled her hand free from Vahn's grasp, flusteredly stating, "My apologies...I...I..." Before she could get her excuse in order, Jeanne was disrupted when the ice covering of the pond broke, revealing a practically glowing Fenrir as the latter smiled and explained, "I found the way forward! This pond is really great! Master, can we take some back to the Manor with us!?" Fenrir had noticed that spending even a few moments in the water was like staying in the chamber her Master had made for her for several hours. Though her body felt like it was filled to the brim, she noticed that her capacity was never quite at the 'maximum', causing Fenrir to feel far more excited than normal as her breathing steadily increased in intensity.

Vahn noticed Fenrir's abnormal state so he used his telekinesis to extricate her from the 'water' as he explained, "We can take back a sample but I don't believe it will hold the same effect if it is removed from this spot. It would be better if we found the source behind this water, but I haven't been able to detect anything no matter how much I look around. For now, focus on refining the energy that has already spread through your body while we eat a light dinner. When everyone is ready, we'll pass into the 77nd Floor together."

Though she was slightly upset at having been separated from the frigid and comfortable water, Fenrir quickly got over her momentary melancholy when Vahn brought her to rest in his embrace. As if the water was no longer a concern, she nuzzled into his chest as Vahn marveled at the excessive Yin energy radiating off her body. His skin became covered in fine ice particles and, if not for the fact that his body had already 'attuned' to the intrusion of Yin Elemental energy, it wouldn't have been a surprise if even his bones froze after contacting Fenrir in her current state. Though this wouldn't have had a lasting effect, as his body was perfectly capable of adapting to such conditions, Vahn knew others wouldn't fare the same. If they were unprepared for what the 'water' held, most male Adventurers would likely lose their lives if they attempted to reach the 77nd Floor through this particular entrance...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn activates no-clip~','Jeanne is so chivalrous (UwU)...','Could Dungeon-chan actually be sexist...!?')

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章節 994: Pride

After extricating himself from the impossibly cold water, Vahn took a deep breath of warm air before inspecting the changes to his body. He had managed to prevent the majority of the energy from invading his body by using [Cantus Bellax] to form a membrane over his skin. Since it was infused with Source Energy, only a fraction of the Yin Elemental energy managed to invade his body whenever the energy membrane became thin during movement. As a result, his skin had become even fairer than before while his previously muscular frame had shrunken down into a more lithe and flexible form. Fortunately, his preparations were enough to avoid the worst-case scenario so Vahn was in a pleasant mood as he allowed the Yin Elemental energy to slowly fade from his body after stirring up his own Yang to counteract it.

While 'recovering', Vahn took a moment to inspect how the girls were doing and wasn't surprised to find that the water had also affected them slightly. Fenrir had actually become slightly taller while her body, which had already been rather thin, now looked soft and willowy. As for Jeanne, she almost looked comical in her armor as, instead of a chivalrous female knight, she almost looked like a model that had been done up with equipment that was one size too big. She was the most aware of the changes in her body so, upon noticing Vahn's gaze, Jeanne's face gained a healthy blush as she somewhat sheepishly hid behind her kite shield. Vahn couldn't help but release a small chuckle that caused the proud knight to turn a deep scarlet before he turned his attention to Helen...

Unlike Fenrir and Jeanne, Helen's appearance hadn't changed in the slightest. This confirmed a suspicion that Vahn had as, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, he could see the peculiar energy in her body had become even denser than before. It was almost as if her entire constitution was comprised of Yin Elemental energy which, considering the 'purpose' of her Innate, made a lot of sense. With what he knew of 'dual-cultivation' from reading several manuals, Vahn knew that the first person that slept with Helen would receive a remarkable increase in their strength. This was due to the fact that everyone, be they male or female, was born with a seed of either Yin or Yang in their body. During sexual intercourse, this seed would be transferred to the partner and, after situating itself in the body of the other person, it would empower and nourish them. Though discerning this 'seed' was nigh impossible, Vahn felt like he was slowly beginning to learn how to distinguish them as his familiarity with various physiologies continued to build. One thing he was absolutely certain of was that, unlike other people, his body seemed to lack this seed. Since neither Tiona or Ais seemed to have 'inherited' it from him, Vahn suspected he may never have had one from the start...

Noticing that Vahn was eyeing her with a curious expression on his face, Helen felt confused and uncomfortable. Though she was used to men ogling her body, as even her own siblings hadn't been an exception, the way Vahn looked at her was very different. Instead of having a possessive look in his eyes, there were times like this when there was nothing but curiosity and, even worse, a look of understanding contained within his gaze. Fortunately, just as the discomfort began to build, Vahn would always snap back to his senses before politely turning his head away. This was yet another thing that disturbed Helen, however, as the moment he looked away always made her feel a strange feeling of loss.

Without letting the peculiarity of the moment delay their progress too much, Vahn changed into a set of equipment that had a size-changing feature before giving the command to resume their expedition. It was beginning to get late in the evening and, though sleep wasn't entirely necessary for this particular group, Vahn wanted to make sure they were well rested to face any unforeseen troubles that might bar their passage. As a result, the group quickly proceeded into the 77th Floor proper which, unlike the Floor's above, had a very distinct change in structure. This was due to the fact that the walls, ceiling, and floor all had various motifs carved into them like massive unending illustrations. It was as if thousands of skilled craftsman had spent hundreds of years painstakingly embellishing the 77th Floor, especially since each surface was relatively flat compared to anything found above. If not for the random rocks and destroyed pillars, giving the Floor the appearance of a ruined temple, it wouldn't be difficult to imagine they had stumbled into the ruins of a long-lost civilization...

After passing over seven kilometers along a single passageway, the party stepped through an ornate door that connected to a massive room whose roof was nearly 2km from the floor. Thus far, there hadn't been a single enemy barring their passage but, upon stepping through the threshold of the door, the reason as to why there had been no enemies was made apparent. Though Vahn already suspected things would turn out this way, he couldn't help but whistle in admiration as he looked out over the large formation of armored monsters. They had formed into four large battalions that held around 3,000 'soldiers' while an ornately armored Captain stood at the front of each individual grouping. At the very back, protected by four more Captains, Vahn could see a figure wearing rather plain robes as it sat upon a highly embellished golden throne. While the rest of the army that had gathered seemed to be highly disciplined, the figure in the robes was leaning to the side with an arm supporting its veiled head, almost as if it was incomparably bored of the situation...

Standing to Vahn's right, Jeanne had also been overlooking the army that had been gathered to repel them. Her usually stoic gaze showed a rare grimace as she tightly gripped the hilt of her sword in preparation for the battle to come. Her eyes locked upon the robed figure as she venomously stated, "Please leave that one to me, my Lord...I will never allow such a malevolent entity to continue existing...!"

Hearing Jeanne's uncharacteristic words, Vahn couldn't help but shake his head lightly before stating in a commanding tone, "Though they are undoubtedly our enemy, you shouldn't take things so personally, Jeanne. I may not be the best person to give this kind of advice but I can still say that there is no such thing as an 'evil' ability. It depends entirely upon how the ability is used..." Even as the words left his lips, Vahn felt a strange incongruity in his heart since he knew exactly why Jeanne was so upset. Though the army before them looked rather impressive, they were undoubtedly still monsters as, with the exception of the Captains, each soldier gathered revealed a skeletal visage instead of one adorned with flesh. Vahn could also tell that they weren't the same kind of entity as Fels and Ein as there was a distinct lack of 'vitality' contained within their bones. Instead, there was an aura of 'death' shrouding them that directly linked each soldier to the entity sitting in the back...

Never one to argue, Jeanne loosened the grip she had placed on her sword as she issued a small nod in response. Though she didn't outright agree with what Vahn had said, Jeanne considered him far wiser than herself since many of the things surrounding Vahn were 'impossible' if she held onto her previously held perspective. Though the robed figure seemed to command the dead, something that seemed inherently wrong, Jeanne knew the way her Lord saw the world was far different than others. To aide in her efforts to match his line of reasoning, Jeanne considered for a moment how she would act if one of Vahn's children was born with a similar ability. If it came down to it, she would do everything in her power to protect the child while Vahn, and everyone else in the Manor for that matter, would undoubtedly love them dearly...

While Jeanne was lost in her own thoughts, the largest of the 'Captains' raised a 4m long spear towards the sky as it released a shrill battle cry. In response, four thousand of the skeletal figures raised malevolent-looking black bows before releasing stark black arrows towards the location of Vahn and his party. Though this was impressive in its own right, Vahn's eyes widened slightly as, upon reaching the apex of their trajectory, the in-flight arrows suddenly increased in number as each individual arrow seemed to split into five. He could even see a thin membrane of black mana around the arrowheads that showed they were infused with magic that allowed them to penetrate armor, not that this would pose a threat to anyone in the party.

Even without giving her the command, Jeanne hefted up her kite shield in the same instant that the arrows had left their bows. By the time the lethal projectiles reached their position, they clashed harmlessly against a white dome that had been formed by Jeanne's Innate. Though the arrows would have been able to penetrate normal magic barriers, the natural counter to such an ability was the very same Light Elemental energy that Jeanne naturally commanded. The arrowheads were rendered inert upon contact while the seemingly paper-thin membrane of light didn't even fluctuate in the slightest. By the time the light faded away, Vahn had knocked an arrow of his own which, much like the black arrows, split apart upon reaching the apex of its trajectory. Unlike the black arrows, however, Vahn's split apart into a total of 99 beams of light that rained down upon the enemies with a far more devastating outcome...

At the same time that Vahn had started his bombardment, Fenrir had launched herself forward with a fierce momentum that wasn't at all affected by the terrible might of the arrows raining down upon her enemies. She instinctually knew where her Master's arrows would land and, knowing he would never harm her, Fenrir had no fear as she began to shred through the army with the same ease as a veteran farmer harvesting wheat. Though their armor was durable enough to be considered as B-Rank equipment by most Adventurers, it didn't matter at all when it came to Fenrir's unstoppable claws. A single swipe of her paw was able to cut through half a dozen closely arranged enemies without any resistance whatsoever.

Keeping a close eye on Fenrir's movements, Vahn continued to rain arrows down upon his enemies with seemingly no effort. He 'knew' each of his arrows would strike true and, as if responding to his confidence, there were instances where the beams of light would appear to miss an agile enemy before immediately bounding back and piercing through their backs. Simply dodging Vahn's arrows served no purpose as, unless you had the ability to deal with them outright, they would continue to pursue their mark irrespective of distance. This was a combination of his equipment's effect and the boons he had gained after earning Artemis' love. Since the potency of her blessing had only increased after the birth of their child, Vahn had absolute confidence that his archery was second only to Artemis herself...

While the common soldiers were being slaughtered, the Captains of the undead army hadn't been idling around. Two had tried to converge upon Fenrir with swords drawn but, as they only had the speed of an average Level 6, Fenrir had evaded the swipe of the first Captain by a hair's breadth before severing the mummified head from its shoulders. Then, as the second Captain attempted to stab her from behind, it's sword ended up piercing through the abdomen of its comrade as Fenrir's figure faded from view. It had attacked her afterimage but, before it was able to process what had happened, a pair of icy claws tore through its functionally useless armor before sending its body flying apart in frozen chunks of decayed flesh...

As if she hadn't just killed two Level 6 entities, Fenrir continued to slaughter every undead that crossed her path, her scarlet eyes glimmering with an intense light that cut through the low-light of the room. Everywhere this light passed, causing angular streaks throughout the ranks of the undead, only destruction would remain. By the time ten minutes had passed, more than 20,000 undead had turned into dust while the only remaining Captains were the four 'guards' surrounding the robed figure. Even as its army was being destroyed, the figure continued to look bored as it sat upon its throne with a disinterested permeating through the area. Deep within its veiled hood, however, two icy blue eyes were following Fenrir's figure with clear intrigue visible within its gaze.

Vahn had been watching the robed figure through his domain and had even sent a few arrows toward its direction throughout the fight. Unfortunately, each of these arrows simply 'stopped' after breaching an invisible membrane that created a 30m wide bubble around the robed figure. Since it should be 'impossible' for something to affect his archery in such a way, Vahn credited the phenomenon to an Innate as, unlike its army, the figure was undoubtedly sentient. It wasn't the only one either as, unlike the other Captains in the area, the one wielding a spear had an oppressive air lingering about it while the ghostly green flames sporadically emitting from its eyes glistened with the light of intelligence.

Not content to allow the robed figure to just sit idly by, Vahn knocked a [Yi] arrow before drawing his bow to the point that is arms formed a perfect circle. This caused the robed figure to pull its eyes away from Fenrir for a brief moment as it locked eyes with Vahn, ridicule and challenge contained within. Sensing this, Vahn's expression didn't change in the slightest but there was an overwhelming feeling of 'contempt' welling up in his heart as he readily accepted the figure's challenge. Just as Fenrir arrived at his side, as she had already sensed the 'danger' present within the arrow, Vahn loosed the relatively plain-looking arrow that had four vibrant suns glowing along its shaft. The fourth sun was slightly less vibrant than the other three, as Vahn was still limited by his own Tier, but the power contained within this single arrow wasn't something that could be looked down upon...

Instead of aiming at the robed figure, Vahn set his target as the void itself, something that few would ever be able to emulate. As a result, his arrow hit 'nothing' before erupting into a spherical black void that tore apart everything in the immediate surroundings with its irresistible gravitational pull. The robed figure, scorn no longer visible within its eyes, raised two gauntleted hands towards the gravity well as it desperately tried to resist the seemingly unstoppable phenomenon. It didn't care that most of its army was being devastated by the attack as it sent out massive golden runes that collided with the black gravitational sphere. These runes persisted for several seconds and seemed to have a small effect on the [Yi] arrows gravitational pull but, much like everything else in the surroundings, they were ultimately destroyed. The robed figure didn't relent, however, buying it just enough time to avoid being consumed by the arrow before the gravitational well naturally receded...

Just as 'relief' seemed to spread across the robed figure's visage, the two icy eyes contained within the hood became slightly dull as it looked towards the two arrows that impacted the 'void' just outside of its area of nullification. As two gravitational spheres began to obscure its vision, the last thing it saw was the image of Vahn's Qinglong form standing in the air on the opposite side of the vast chamber. The same ridicule it had directed towards him was now visible in Vahn's azure-blue eyes as, seemingly finding two arrows lacking, a third [Yi] arrow left his bow. Though this left Vahn with barely enough energy to resist the effects of the arrows himself, he simply tossed an undiluted emerald green 'gem' into his mouth that caused his reserves to rapidly replenish. Unlike the [Sage Aldrnari's Tears] that she produced for general consumption, Terra had created a special 'candy' for Vahn's personal consumption after partnering with Yggy. It was suffused with enough life energy to practically revive someone on the brink of death but Vahn used it as nothing more than a supplement when he was unable to use a [Turbo Ether]...

By the time the three [Yi] arrows lost their effect, much of the 20km wide chamber had been completely destroyed. If not for the strange energy membrane between the 76th and 77th Floor, the attack would have undoubtedly caused the former to collapse as, in hindsight, Vahn knew he had once again gone overboard. As he stowed away his [Khryselakatos], Vahn resumed his Progenitor form before releasing a heavy sigh. Ever since becoming an Emperor, he had often taken things to an extreme, even that was not his intent from the start. If things kept up in such a fashion, Vahn was afraid he would become the same as his counterpart from the Divination and simply deal with all potential issues with overwhelming force...

While lost in his own thoughts, Fenrir, Helen, and Jeanne approached Vahn from behind, the latter showing a vibrant smile on her face as she complimented, "That was an incredible attack, my Lord. I fear that even my own defenses might not be able to contend against such a powerful gravitational well..." Though the truth of the matter was that Jeanne would have been able to tank the attack without much issue, it was still a testament to the [Yi] arrows power that it could cause her to make such a remark. As even Helen showed a momentary expression of awe on her face, Vahn allowed a small smile to spread across his own as he once again looked around at the devastation his attack had caused. Though he decided it was necessary to train and discipline himself further in the future, the part of him that enjoyed being praised had never fully faded away. With a smile on his face, Vahn turned to his three companions and simply stated, "Let's go..." before once again stepping forward, this time leading the way himself...

(A/N: I am officially home~! Though there were several issues that caused me to arrive more than nine hours later than planned, I'm finally free from the work that has kept me busy. The downside to the situation is that I'm still fatigued from the travel so this may be the only chapter for the day since I didn't really get a day off. There will probably be another in the afternoon, once I get some food in my belly, but the official start of my schedule will be tomorrow. Saturday's will be my day off but, as I wasn't really able to output the promised chapters for today, I'll end up posting 3 on the upcoming Saturday as well. I'll be slowly increasing the amount of content until I'm back in the groove of writing 100k words a week so look forward to it~!)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Helen's Mystery Revealed...?','Spooky, scary, skeletons...','Vahn is a Tsundere who likes being praised (UwU)~!')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE


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