章節 2123: Long Game
After serving up a light lunch and sending the girls off to share the bad news, Vahn returned to what he was doing prior to their arrival.
Though they wouldn't discover it until their spiritual power had accumulated beyond a certain point, the Companions Vahn had gifted to Asuka and Yo were far more special than he let on. They were effectively Pure-Blooded Dragons that had been attuned to very specific Laws, and, once they matured to the point of being able to sustain their transformed state, their power would serve as a foundation for change within the Little Garden.
Simply put, the current form of the Companions was their Shikai state. Once the girls were strong enough to enter Bankai, their true power as Pure Blooded Dragons would be released. Yo's had the power to manipulate flames in all forms. As for Asuka, her Companion was even more unique as it derived its power from the transitory phase between Life and Death.
While it wouldn't be as powerful as the Companion he created to govern the 'Boundaries', Asuka's Abyssinian, the true name of the inordinately regal creature, could trespass barriers, teleport, bend space, and, once she had mastered its power, resurrect the dead.
Though these abilities sounded unbelievably powerful on paper, they were difficult to master and required a specific mentality to even be able to pull off. As for Yo's Agnyon, it was simpler to use, but, depending on the comprehension and authority of its user, mastery over flames meant mastery over creation and destruction. A Phoenix's flames could heal injuries and resurrect the dead while the flames of a Pure-Blooded Fire Dragon could break down and destroy matter in its most basic form.
When it came down to it, the Companions Vahn had created had no limits to speak of. Even the Law of Death was capable of creating life, and, under the right conditions, fire and ice could manipulate space and time at their leisure. After all, time didn't truly exist. It was simply a convenient construct to recognize the changes in matter and energy from one state to another until harmony had been achieved. Time moving forward was an observation of chaos and entropy. Time moving backward was a reflection of order and negentropy.
With all Laws sharing the same Origin, mastery over the Laws meant approaching the Origin of all things. The closer you got to this point, the more abstract the Laws became. Eventually, you would reach a point where there was no difference between even the most polarizing of concepts. If you were able to reach the Origin itself, you could even rewrite the Laws of reality at your leisure.
In the end, Vahn was intended to produce a total of 81 Elementary Spirit Companions. These were creatures that would rule over the elemental forces and various lesser concepts. The Companions gifted to Asuka and Yo were of this variety.
Ruling over these 81, at least from a conceptual standpoint, would be 18 Companions representing Balance. They represented various polarizing concepts such as Yin-Yang, Life-Death, Order-Entropy, and Creation-Destruction. On the most fundamental level, these were basically the same thing, but, from the perspective of beings attempting to master them, they were drastically different.
The thing that truly distinguished the 18 from the other 81 was the fact that they were Star-Grade by default. In other words, if Vahn were to gift them to Asuka and Yo, they would be able to battle against Demons and Gods on the level of Algol and the Olympians without the need for training. With basic mastery, they could even reach the level of the Northern, Western, and Southern Floor Masters.
Vahn was still against the idea of granting people power, so, as an added precaution of sorts, he made it so that the 18 polarizing Companions could only manifest their full power in conjunction with their polar opposite. Lyfa(Life) would need to team up with Nyxxs(Death), Racana(Creation) would need to ally with Tabahi(Destruction), and so on and so forth.
At the present moment, Vahn wasn't entirely sure who to entrust the 18 polarizing Companions to. He was just preparing them in advance so he would be able to give them to people he believed to be worthy of them. More specifically, he was intending to entrust them to people who already had extremely powerful bonds. This could be a familial bond or a bond between lovers. The only thing that mattered was that they were willing to fight alongside and support one another no matter the odds.
Though he would never force them, Vahn was currently considered Jin and Lily as the candidates for Yin and Yang. He believed they would make a good couple if Jin could only muster up the courage to surmount the barrier between childhood friends and lovers. If he didn't, there was a good chance that Lily would always see him as a child she needed to protect. In the absolute worst-case scenario, she would end up falling in love with whoever facilitated this almost instinctual need.
Previously, Vahn was worried that Lily would imprint on him due to the care and concern he had shown towards the No Names. Fortunately, most of the sentiments she directed towards him were respect and adulation, not love.
Now that Izayoi had been introduced into the picture, there was a very high probability that Lily would imprint on him. Girls, especially young girls with kind natures and well-developed maternal instincts, had a penchant for crushing on "bad boys". One reason for this was their innate desire to try and change the object of their affection into a better person. Even more than that, however, was their attraction to the polarizing nature of a bad boy's character. They could see through the facade of confidence and find the vulnerable boy hidden within.
Though he felt sorry for Jin, Vahn knew there was a very high chance that Lily would eventually fall for Izayoi. Tsunderes were prime targets for girls with pronounced maternal instincts so there was no way Lily would be able to ignore him. If it wasn't for the seal on her body preventing her from evolving to her next stage, Izayoi probably wouldn't be able to ignore her either. After all, while he would never admit it, Izayoi had a soft spot for motherly women. He even had a crush on his foster mother. So much so that every aspect of his life revolved around becoming the person she believed he could become...
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Staring at the Axolotl-like creature levitating in front of him, a glimmer of intrigue radiated from the very depths of Vahn's eyes as he remarked, "Fascinating. Every time I create one of you, I can't help being awed by the variability of your nature and appearance. Truly breathtaking..."
Though its mouth and eyes didn't move in the slightest, the vaguely feminine Axolotl telepathically replied, "Thank you. It pleases me to know my Creator has such a fascination with the myriad forms of life. I'm not sure what I would have done if you thought I was ugly..."
Chuckling in response to the peculiar pink Dragon's remark, Vahn resisted the urge to complement its beauty as he produced a spherical assortment of runes and sent it flying into the newly created Companion's chest. This caused its form to immediately shrink until it resembled a large chibiesque Axolotl with four arms, large eyes, and a serpentine tail.
Picking up the cat-sized creature, Vahn allowed it to perch on his shoulders before explaining its purpose. He made sure to infuse his intent in the Companions prior to their creation but it never hurt to explain things in greater detail. This was also his way of bonding with the creatures, as, in more ways than one, they were effectively his children. The more innocent ones even referred to him as their Father rather than their Creator. Thus, while their paths were fated to diverge from his own, Vahn wanted to be there for each of the unsurprisingly adorable creatures...
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With less than a day remaining until he was supposed to Host the Gift Game, Vahn had to meet with a bunch of organizers who had been trying to get in contact with him ever since news of the event went public. He had intended to leave the arrangements to the Thousand Eyes Community, but, as the official Host of the event, there were a number of formalities that required his personal attention.
One such formality was participating in an interview that would invariably be broadcast throughout the entirety of the Little Garden. Fame and popularity were two of the most significant aspects of life within the Divine Realm, so, as could be expected, the Little Garden had its own version of the news media. There were even Communities that specialized in organizing and broadcasting events as documenting the rise of an up-and-coming legend was one of the most direct methods to earn the designation of a Poet.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. Our Leader, the Chief Editor of our News Community, was starting to worry."
Staring at the petite woman seated across from him, an amused smile developed across Vahn's face as he shook his head and said, "It's a small matter. However, I would prefer to get this over with. I'm a lot busier than most people seem to believe."
Pushing up her square, red-rimmed glasses, a mischievous smiled developed across the bob-haired woman's face as she asked, "Is that so? Perhaps you'd like to shed some light on the inner workings of the Sage Dragon's Hearth? People are also curious to know, what does a Pure-Blooded Dragon such as yourself get up to when nobody is looking~?"
Restraining a chuckle, Vahn's eyes briefly shifted to the woman's recently tinted hair, musing, "I'm sure you've already reached a conclusion in that regard. Unfortunately, I won't be able to provide the exclusive you're looking for. Others might consider me licentious but the truth of the matter is I have a soft spot for certain kinds of women. I'm afraid you'll have to settle with a normal interview."
Punctuating his statement with a wink, Vahn nearly chuckled when the woman shrugged helplessly and said, "That's a shame. It took a long time to dye my hair like this. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to get to know you. After all, it's not every day a girl gets to interview a Dragon."
Supplying a wink of her own, the rather hip-looking journalist, full name Kanade Katana, pretended to turn on her already running recorder as she asked, "So, what can you tell me about your reasons for hosting such a high-brow Gift Game? Rumors regarding your spat with the Perseus Community have already started to spread. Is this intended as a slight against the Olympic Gods?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn casually replied, "I don't particularly care what the Olympians think. If they're offended by my actions, that's on them. My reason for hosting this Gift Game has nothing to do with them. Rather, I just wanted to give people the opportunity to experience a competition that celebrates the founding principles of the Little Garden rather than punishing all but the strongest."
With visible stars in her shimmering grey eyes, Katana leaned forward in a manner that accentuated her rather large bust as she asked, "Oh? It's rare for a Pure-Blooded Dragon to be so magnanimous. In fact, as far as I know, you're the first authentic Dragon to promote such a philanthropic ideology. The only other group that comes to mind is the Salamandra Royal Family but it's been generations since they could call themselves genuine Dragons."
Though he wasn't too surprised, Vahn still raised his brows at the mention of Salamandra. He didn't expect them to come up so quickly, but, considering her first comment involved an organization in the South, it wasn't too surprising that she would mention an organization in the North. Still, just to be sure, Vahn had Loi-chan manifest to make sure Katana wasn't a plant by Shiroyasha just to mess with him...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sekirei vibes...','Axolotls are cute (O w O)...','Journalists are scary...')
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章節 2124: Publicity
With the first round of events scheduled around 11 AM, Vahn went through his morning process of waking Sarina and Nono, helping Usalia with the kids, and cooking breakfast.
Though they had expected him to stop helping them prepare in the mornings, Vahn explained that he actually helped all the girls prepare for their day. He sincerely enjoyed caring for them and took pride in bringing out their natural qualities. Thus, even though Sarina felt as though he was treating her like a child at first, Vahn had cleared her doubts by making love to her in front of the bathroom mirror. Since then, he would help her get ready without a single strand of clothing on while Nono, ever-eager to be pampered, would literally doze off while he was brushing her teeth...
"I'm kind of nervous...everyone in the Little Garden is going to be watching me..."
Staring at her reflection's rather sizeable breasts, Sarina made it pretty clear what she was actually concerned about. Recordings of Gift Games could be purchased from the Communities that helped to organize and broadcast the event throughout the Little Garden. She could try to wear a corset to keep them in place but there was a good chance that perverts throughout the Divine Realm would be gawking at her breasts as she bounced atop a horse...
Recalling how envious Sarina had been of large breasts in the past, Vahn couldn't help chuckling at her complaint. Before she could pout, however, he reached around to cup the two flawless mounds of flesh as he said, "There are plenty of solutions to your problem. I can give you a brassier that lets them settle in a sub-dimensional pocket but most of the women who use that method find it to be uncomfortable. The simplest solution is this..."
Just as Sarina was about to get excited from having her breasts fondled, her eyes widened as she noticed her bosom shrinking at a startling rate. It didn't even take three seconds for her to go from the pinnacle of a D-Cup to a pair of breasts that perfectly fit in the palms of Vahn's hands.
Taking advantage of her momentary stupor, Vahn maintained a smile as he said, "Don't worry. They will inflate to their usual size after a few hours. I can also return them to normal now if you want me to. Your body, your rules."
Hearing Vahn's words, Sarina suppressed her words of protest as she eyed herself in the mirror and joked, "Tione and Tiona would be jealous. Both gripe about their breasts being too big or too small. If they knew it was this easy to solve their problems, they would lose it."
Though his version of Tiona had embraced her small yet tantalizing chest, Vahn still nodded his head in approval of Sarina's words. She liked to talk about her friends back in the Lok Familia, and, if he were being honest, Vahn really enjoyed hearing about her experiences. Her words sometimes made him feel a little melancholic but it was never the bad kind. Instead, it was melancholy tinged with reminiscence and longing...the kind that gave you the strength to overcome anything...
Before Sarina could change her mind, Vahn pulled out a cute yet fashional brassier for her, asking, "How's this? It's enchanted so that people won't be able to focus even if they're looking directly at your breasts."
Seeing the paradoxically cute yet sexy bra manifest to cover her breasts, a wry yet bewitching smile developed across Sarina's face as she stood up, wrapped her arms around Vahn's neck, and began to kiss him. She could always do it later, but, now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to see what it was like to have sex with small breasts. She had also heard that small breasts allowed you to feel closer to the one you loved, so, knowing Vahn could control and manipulate time, she decided to confirm it personally...
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Though the morning lasted a bit longer than he expected, Vahn was in a fantastic mood by the time the event organizers asked him to come out and give his speech. The Communities participating in the Vahnatus, the name he had decided on for his version of the Olympics, had already made their pledge. However, for the sake of the billions, if not trillions of people watching the event, the Host was still expected to make a speech.
Fortunately, some of Vahn's Templates were highly charismatic individuals. He could give a pretty good speech himself, but, more often than not, his boldest statements came when declaring war, riling up soldiers, or issuing ultimatums. He had never been much of a crowd-pleaser, so, prior to the event's start, he made a pseudo-template of himself with a personality very similar to Ganesha. The elephantine God might have a weird laugh but he was inarguably one of the most charismatic individuals Vahn had ever met.
Thanks to the sacrifice of his Template, Vahn was able to lounge in the waiting area while each of the events were previewed using hyper-realistic illusions. He might have to deal with some backlash due to how silly his Template behaved during the introductions, but, as a Pure-Blooded Dragon, he had every right to be eccentric. He was also entitled to indulging himself at his leisure, so, while the crowd and the contestants were all getting riled up in the massive Colosseum he had prepared, he was kicked back with his feet up on a table as Usalia and Fenrir sat on either side of him.
"Look at how excited all the participants are. This is how a Gift Game should be..."
Since most Gift Games required Communities to wager something of significant value, playbacks of previous high-brow Gift Games showed the players as desperate, anxious, and emotional wrecks. In some cases, they were literally fighting with their lives on the line. This excited some viewers, but, at the same time, it horrified many and deterred weaker Communities from ever participating in such events.
Though the Aldrnari Empire was far from perfect, it was idyllic compared to the vast majority of social structures Vahn had observed. At the very least, children were protected, everyone had the opportunity to learn whatever they wanted, and, while there were a number of hellish sub-textures, things like disease and hunger had been eradicated in every territory under Imperial control.
Now that he was developing a production line and had started to personally produce Companions, Vahn was seriously considering spreading his Empire through the Divine Realm. He didn't mind the general structure of the Little Garden. It was the fact that more than 90% of the Realm's inhabitants were relatively normal and powerless people. If the Divine Realm was a place that was supposed to weed out the strong from the weak, there should be a system in place for people who were unable or unwilling to participate to opt-out. Forcing normal people to live in a place dominated by Gods and Demons was utter nonsense.
Fortunately, the only real requirement for establishing an Empire was promoting your Community to 4-Digits. By then, he would have more than enough leeway to extend an invitation to the people living in his personalized Little Garden. They would pounce at the opportunity to help him conquer the 4-7-Digit Gates, so, now that he had decided to become a Floor Master, Vahn figured he might as well become the Overall Floor Master...
"What are you thinking about, plip? Your eyes are even scarier than an Overlord's..."
Raising his brows, Vahn manifested a mirror to take a look at his face whilst answering, "It's nothing bad. I was just thinking the Little Garden could use a bit of restructuring..."
Seeing that his expression appeared normal, Vahn came to the conclusion that Usalia was simply reading his aura. Her instincts were nearly as developed as Fenrir's, and, ever since he was back in Danmachi, it seemed like everyone close to him could understand what he was thinking. Thus, with thoughts of removing a few unsavory Gods dancing across his mind, it was no surprise that Usalia thought his eyes looked scary.
"Mou...so long as it doesn't endanger our kittens, plip..."
Since her children were her only real concern, Usalia was happy so long as they were happy. She knew that Vahn would do everything in his power to protect them, so, even if he waged war and destroyed half the Little Garden, she wouldn't care. Rather, as a former Overlord and General, war was something she was intimately familiar with. If Vahn asked her to raise an army and conquer the entire East Side, she wouldn't even flinch.
Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn drew the presently petite bunny close to him as he said, "Don't worry. I would never place our children in danger..." before planting a kiss atop her head. In response, Usalia rubbed her head and ears against his chest while Fenrir, understanding her Master better than anyone, silently muttered, "Just you wait, Altria..." with a fierce glimmer in her eyes...
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Though she didn't approach Vahn's Template, for quite a number of reasons, Seraphina had been accompanying him during the opening ceremony and the explanation of events. Her primary goal in participating in the Vahnatus was to strengthen her image and spread her name throughout the Divine Realm. Some might assume she was aiming to become a God but her ambitions were much higher than that. If Vahn was going to rule over the entire Little Garden one day, she would be right there alongside him as Empress of all Realities.
With this in mind, Seraphina had no qualms about showing up to her event wearing little more than a purple bikini. She was a lot of things but bashful wasn't one of them. In her mind, it was perfectly natural for men to adore her. After all, she was the most beautiful Overlord in all the Netherworlds. If they wanted to look, they were free to do so. However, if any of them even thought about putting their grubby little hands on her, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot them in the face.
Unsurprisingly, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic, borderline violent cheer the moment Seraphina emerged from the waiting area without a modicum of modesty or shame. This earned her a number of glares from the other female contestants but a few had the wherewithal to unzip their blouses or outright strip down to their underwear. This caused the crowd to enter a frenzy, a thunderous cheer echoing through the arena as hundreds of thousands of people, men and women like, hooted and hollered like wild animals.
While others might have been intimidated by such a riot, Seraphina simply puffed out her chest in pride before issuing her characteristic laugh. A few of the other girls tried to compete with her, but, while there were quite a number of beauties participating in the Shooting event, the eyes of billions of men across the Little Garden were wholly focused on Seraphina...
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Though he wasn't particularly surprised by Seraphina's behavior, Vahn couldn't help exhaling a sigh. After this kind of display, the number of arrogant and licentious fools 'courting death' was going to increase exponentially. He could already imagine idiots like Zeus threatening to declare war on him if he refused to hand over Seraphina as 'compensation' for borrowing the template of the Olympics or making slights against the Olympians. That man was a greedy and licentious fool in pretty much every Record Vahn had visited, and, based on the rumors, this particular Zeus was no different.
"Maybe I should just steal his Fragment of Origin and give it to a little girl? It would be pretty funny to see a loli running around hurling lightning. If I give her a bashful or earnest nature, the people in the Lower Realms won't have to worry about their wives and daughters getting stolen just because an arrogant old horn dog got a little excited..."
As his Thunderbolt Zanpakuto had actually developed a Spirit resembling a young girl with white hair and electric blue eyes, Vahn was highly tempted to entrust the identity of Zeus to her. In fact, if he really wanted to, he could probably replace a lot of Gods and Heroes with his Zanpakuto Spirits. That would give them something to do other than lounging about in his soul, and, considering he was going to rule over the Record itself, placing his Zanpakuto and Companions in charge wasn't the worst idea he had come up with...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Heresy...','The sleeping dragon has begun to stir...','Leave a comment if you'd like to see Zeus-chan bitch slap her predecessor into oblivion xD...')
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