Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With the pressure they were experiencing and seeing the boy draw his sword, all three men immediately reacted. The short, stout man closest to Lili lifted her body and put a knife to her throat as the other two began maneuvering to flank Vahn's sides.Seeing the man use Lili's body as a shield, any remaining restraint in his body completely vanished. A state of mind similar to when he had awakened on the second floor set in as he dashed towards the smallest man to his left.Vahn approached with a terrifying momentum, causing the man to panic as he shouted towards his companions. He took up his sword and tried to thrust it towards Vahn to break the charge.From Vahn's perspective, the shout was muted in his ears and the movement of the sword seemed to trace its path in a slow motion due to the vast difference in their stats. Using his gauntleted left hand, he altered the vector of the blade and directed it into the ground.Having his blow suddenly change direction, the small man was knocked off balance as he stared in absolute shock at the shadow of the approaching blade. Instead of a thought, the last thing that passed through his mind before embracing death was the blade of Vahn's sword.The other two men looked on in horror as the hooded assailant turned their companions head into meat paste with the sheer force of the wind generated by the deadly thrust. They felt their legs begin to tremble at the ruthlessness of the figure before them. The stout man tightened his grip on Lili's neck before shouting out."You motherf@cker! You killed Todd!" He saw the figure turn towards him and he subconsciously tried using the small body in his grip to create a wall between him and the monster."M-move another step and the b!tch is dead! Dead, you hear me you b@stard!?" As if to solidify his threat, he squeezed until the girl began to gurgle and twitch.Vahn couldn't seem to hear anything the man was saying, but as soon as the first syllable issued from Lili's throat he sprung into action and bisected the man that had been maneuvering into his blind spot.The man was completely unprepared for the blow and stared at the 30cm gap that had separated his torso from his legs. Even though Vahn had cut cleanly through him, in a manner similar to what he had seen happen to his friends head, the trailing winds tore through the severed area like a meat grinder. He couldn't even scream as he stared at the legs that had yet to fall to the ground. Almost as if echoing the sounds of the young girl held hostage, he began to gurgle before finally choking on his own blood and organs.Screaming at the sight of his second companions death, the man squeezed Lili's neck like a vice causing her windpipe to collapse. He attempted to use the dagger and jam it into her ribs with the intent of robbing her life.*THOOOM* *SHHNK*A muffled sound tore through the air. The stout man who had backed up against the wall while holding Lili hostage stared in horror at the left arm which previously held the dagger. In its place, there was the sheen of an evil black blade embedded into the wall beneath where his shoulder previously connected to his arm. Before he was able to regain his senses, an irresistable force surrounded his neck.Vahn lifted the 155cm raccoon-eared man using his right hand as he shattered the man's remaining wrist with his left, freeing Lili in the process. Seeing the small girl fall to the ground unmoving, Vahn put more pressure into his grip until he could feel the outline of the man's spine in his palm. At this point, the man's face had bloated beyond recognition as the pressure caused his eyes to free themselves from their sockets.*SNAP*Even though the man had long-since died, Vahn completed snapping his neck. When he released the bloated creature, the head dangled loosely like a sack as the body collapse to the ground twitching.The moment the body hit the ground, Vahn felt a powerful migraine overcome him as his clarity returned. He grits his teeth before turning towards the young girl who lay helplessly on the ground gurgling for air. She had already begun to froth at the mouth as light pink bubbles were endlessly generated in her attempts to draw air.As he cradles her body, she stared at him with her single tear-filled eye. Vahn's heart wrenches in pain as his brain starts churning rapidly to come up with methods to save her. As her throat had collapsed, he couldn't feed her a [Senzu Bean] and none of the potions he possessed would be able to remedy the injury quick enough to prevent her from asphyxiating. There was no time to look through the system and find a solution.Vahn did the only thing he could think of. He took a [Senzu Bean] and placed it into his mouth, chewing it into a paste. He gently caressed Lili's face as if to reassure her...and activated his [Wound Transfer: B] for the first time as he swallowed the bean paste.Steam began to emit from all the wounds on Lili's body as she was rapidly healed. The resultant steam entered through the pores of Vahn's skin and the wounds that had previously been on her body began to appear on his.He grits his teeth until his gums start bleeding as the pain begins to wrack his body. The now fully recovered Lili stares in shock as the boy that just saved her begins to writhe on the ground in a state worse than she was in previously. She didn't know what had happened but understood the boy had somehow transferred all of her wounds to his body and was now on the verge of death.She screamed and tried to help, but no matter what she did the wounds only seemed to get worse.Vahn felt his body tearing apart. Though he had consumed a [Senzu Bean] to counteract the damage absorbed by the transfer, the two mystical forces seemed to battle within his body. One was trying to heal his wounds while the other continued with unrestrained vigor trying to generate them. As a result, the two forces were wreaking havoc in his body and causing his flesh and bones to shatter in their wake.He could feel warm tears dripping onto his face, and stared through bloodied eyes at the young girl crying over his body. Due to his [Pain Tolerance: S] Vahn was able to maintain his clarity through the pain. He lifted his hand to try and console the girl but stopped after seeing it's bloodied state.Seeing his attempt and hesitation on his face, the girl grabbed the outstretched hand and placed it to her face as she tried to stifle her tears. The blood from his hand marred her otherwise flawless face, and Vahn couldn't help feeling a little guilty as he smiled at her.Suppressing her tears, Lili tried speaking to the boy that had sacrificed himself to save her. "I don't even know your name. *sniff* Please don't die, please, please...." She kept repeating the word over and over, mixed between her sobs and snot.Vahn shook his head before withdrawing his identity slip from the inventory. Seeing the name of her would-be hero, she managed to speak out a few more words. "Thank you Vahn..."Hearing her words brought a smile to his face as he laid back and felt the strength leaving his body. He couldn't help but recall part of the words Chloe had spoken before they parted ways. "For now, focus on discovering where you want to go in your life. When you figure that out and become strong enough to share the burden of others...if your feelings remain unchanged, you can try asking me out again... Though I can't promise I'll accept when the time comes~nya"The smile on his face increased as he began to lose consciousness.//[Effigy of the Hero: S] Activated//Vahn felt a powerful energy fill his body and he opened his eyes to meet the gobsmacked expression of Lili. One woundless boy covered in blood, and one disheveled young girl both stared incredulously at each other.For the first time in both of his lives, Vahn began laughing without inhibition. Lili stared at him like he had lost his mind, unsure of what happened to bring about the current situation.After a while, she tried asking the boy named Vahn what was going on, only to see him collapse powerlessly onto the ground and fall unconscious. She flusteredly checked to make sure he was still breathing before releasing a relieved sigh."What kind of crazy person did I get involved with..." She shook her head before resting to boys head on her lap, waiting for him to wake up.

As Lili stared at the unconscious Vahn, she couldn't help but clean the blood from around his face."Eeeeeh!? Isn't he way too handsome?" She was shocked when she finally saw his face. Her heart, which had just recently calmed down, began to beat loudly in her chest.With a flustered expression and a mild blush, she stared closely into the face of the sleeping boy...After a while, she looked around to confirm there was nobody in the area before mocking herself for her caution. Trying to calm herself, she began to focus on the boy once again. She reached out her hand ...and started poking him in the cheek. "Ehehehe~ Such a cute sleeping face."While this was happening, the seemingly unconscious Vahn couldn't help but sweat internally. Although his body had been put into a 'dormant' state by the effigy, he was still aware of everything going on around him. He could feel the softness of the thighs on the back of his head and the muttering of the girl as she gently poked his cheek while laughing.Vahn remembered how Bell had saved her in the original plot, and how she began to follow him around after the event. He began to worry she would become attached to him in the same way, but tried putting the issue to the back of his mind temporarily.There was no way he could have ignored her suffering as it had happened right in front of him. He didn't regret saving her, nor how he had almost died due to the intermixing of the two opposing energies within his body. His only regret was the fact she had to suffer for so long in the first place. While he was running around training, interacting with people, and enjoying good food...she was still under the oppressive influence of her supposed comrades from the same Familia...Though, this situation wasn't all bad. This incident proved that his strength was growing rapidly, and he was beginning to possess the strength that would allow him to alter the fate of those around him. If they had met sooner, he would still have tried to save her, but the outcome may have been vastly different. It was fortunate that the scumbags were all only level 1, and weren't very proficient in combat due to their lifestyle choices. Vahn knew his future opponents would be far more powerful, proficient, and experienced in combat, planning, and tactics.At this time Lili had begun to stroke his head while mumbling under her breath. Vahn's instincts told him it would be very dangerous to listen to what she was saying since he was supposed to be unconscious right now. To distract himself, he began reviewing the changes in his status as a result of the fight and his previous exploration of the dungeon.==========================================================Name: [Vahn Mason]Age: 14Race: Human, *sealed*Parameters: [Danmachi: 1-4]-Level:1[+](0)-Power: S909 -&gt; SS1001-Endurance: B740 -&gt; SS1108-Dexterity: A833 -&gt; A887-Agility: A889 -&gt; S940-Magic: SSS1493 -&gt; SSS1611-Total: 4864 -&gt; 5547Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)Karma: 721 -&gt; 749==========================================================He now had raw stats nearing the peak strength of a Level 2 while his Magic and Endurance had grown to monstrous values. It turns out the collision of the forces within his body had helped to temper his endurance. Most surprising of all though was that his [Pain Tolerance: S] had evolved into a new innate skill called [Rakshasa Body].[Rakshasa Body]Rank: Innate, (H) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a backlash.*[Passive]: Provides a moderate increase to pain resistance. Allows the body to disperse internal forces. Promotes natural recovery rate.[Active]: Increases power and endurance based on damage received. Heavy stamina consumption.This became Vahn's second innate skill, and would probably become one of his trump cards in the future. He looked forward to being able to test its effects, but the active component of the skill worried him a bit...Vahn continued going through his status and had begun to grow bored, so he made casual conversation with Sis. She was sulking a bit since Vahn had gone into a 'rage' state where he once again became unresponsive, but she forgave him since it was brought about by his resolve to save someone.(*So what are you going to do with her?*) She asked, more mechanically than usual.Vahn thought before 'shaking' his head. ("I'm not sure Sis. The only thing I thought about was saving her. What she does from now on is up to her.")(*Oh? Is that really the case?*)Vahn was confused by the questioning tone. 'Was she still angry with him for earlier?'(*Now that you've saved her, you have to take responsibility for your actions. If you don't take care of her she'll just end up in a similar situation in the future. That is unless you plan to wipe out the Soma Familia and every other disreputable adventurer in the entire City?*)That was one of the things Vahn was worried about as well. Lili was still young, probably between 12-13 years old. She had no parents to care for her, and the Soma Familia was full of scumbags and scoundrels that only cared about making money to satiate their addiction. The biggest factor...was that she was weak. Even if she wanted to become independent, she was unable to do so because of her lack of talent. That's why she was so easily exploited by mere level 1 adventurers.The only options seemed to require that he either: take care of her and protect her or, help her become strong enough to protect herself. He knew she wanted to become stronger, but lacked both the confidence and the aptitude to do so.("Sis, can I purchase items from the shop to help increase her strength?") Vahn was curious, as the thought of using his system to empower others hadn't really crossed his mind before.(*It is impossible Vahn. Unless you were able to alter the structure of their body, they wouldn't be able to use the items within the System. The only reason you're able to do so is that The Path' had integrated with your soul and took part in the construction of your current body. The energy contained within your body is 'source' energy, while the inhabitants of this world use 'mana'. There is a fundamental difference between the structure of your body and the body of those born within the 'records'.*)("Wait, does that mean [Senzu Beans] don't work on people in this world? And what about equipment?") After finding out about the differences in his body, he asked about the pressing matters in his mind. Was it possible that if he had given the [Senzu Bean] to Lili she would have experienced the same thing he had gone through!? The thought brought a chill to his mind.(*That is correct, but it's not as bad as you're imagining. Since the essence contained within the bean is fundamentally different from this worlds 'mana', their body would simply filter it out and disperse it into the atmosphere. The same 'Laws' that keep the mana contained within their body would expel any foreign energy. As for equipment, any clothes or armor you purchase is automatically sized to fit your body. If you wanted to give equipment to others, you would have to unlock the 'Gift' function after triggering its quest.*)Vahn relaxed as he listened to the first part of her words, before growing increasingly interested in the second half. He was relieved that his potential slip-up wouldn't have endangered Lili's life, and was curious about how to trigger the 'Gift' function Sis had mentioned.After asking, Sis informed him that she couldn't disclose any information about triggering the system's functions. He would have to rely on his own efforts to discover their requirements....After the three-hour imposed dormancy, Vahn finally 'awakened'. Lili, who was currently smiling as she enjoyed playing with his [Plague Mask] noticed his gaze and began to blush fiercely.Vahn tried to lift his head from her lap, but she panicked and held his head down before speaking in a flustered tone. "Y-y-you shouldn't be moving so-so-suddenly. You just woke up after all!" She had been caught up in playing around with his 'unconscious' body and hadn't yet prepared herself to interact with him normally."I'm fine. I was just knocked unconscious as a side-effect of the item that had healed my wounds. My body is in perfect health." Though he found her actions amusing, it was very uncomfortable being held down by his head and neck. He could easily free himself if he wanted, but he didn't want to startle the girl before they had a proper conversation.Lili reluctantly released his head before hiding her face. As Vahn checked his body, she would give him curious glances from time to time.He looked around at the blood and gore surrounding them, and then gazed towards the shy girl who seemed to be completely oblivious to the corpses and stench surrounding them. Vahn himself was overcome by the foul smelling odor and ended up vomiting due to the induced nausea.Lili gave an incredulous glance at the still retching Vahn, ("He is acting as if he has never seen a dead body before. Why was he able to kill them in such a ruthless manner if he can't even keep calm seeing the result? Could it be...")"Excuse me Vahn...sama. Could it be you've never killed anyone before?" (A/N: Let me know if using honorifics is odd. I can remove them if people don't like it.)Vahn wiped the drool from his mouth and gave her an awkward smile before shaking his head.Seeing his response, Lili was overcome with powerful emotions. ("It's his first time killing someone, and he did it to save me!?")She began to panic, thinking her weakness had caused the handsome and innocent boy to turn into a murderer. She even began to regret that he had saved her in the first place after seeing how much pain and trouble he had to go through...Suddenly, a thought hit her. Though she knew his name, she hadn't even told him hers' yet. She was still being influenced by her fear and hate for adventurers, and even though the boy had saved her life she hadn't even told him her name even as he was 'dying'. The second wave of guilt hit her at the realization, and she began to cry, unable to look into the face of the boy she had wronged so irrevocably.As she sits, crying at her own realization, a warm hand is placed on her head. She holds back her tears and looks upwards at the boy who stares at her with a gentle smile. Feeling his kindness, the guilt in her heart becomes palpable, threatening to devour her from the inside. She tries to speak out, but can't seem to form the words. She wants to apologize but doesn't know how...Vahn smiles gently while patting the small girls head. She really is much smaller than he remembered from the manga. When standing, she is probably only around 105-110cm, so when she is sitting on the ground like this she looks like a crying child. He can see loss and guilt in her eyes and knows that she probably blames herself for everything that happened.As he tries to comfort her, he begins to recall all the experiences he had on his date with Chloe. Every word and action seemed to be trying to help him break down the walls he had built around his heart. She didn't try to bear his burden or take advantage of his weakness. Instead, she allowed him to expose himself before her without judging him for his cowardice. Finally, she helped guide him on a path that would allow him to overcome his past and even gave him a goal to work towards...Remembering all this, he looked down at the crying Lili and saw an image of himself, weak and afraid. It had been such a short period of time, but he was already able to become much stronger...and Vahn decided he would give her the same opportunity. He couldn't live to protect her, but he could help guide her along a path that would enable her to break free of her fears and inhibitions."Do you wish to become stronger?" He gently whispered the words causing Lili's body to startle.She looked towards him with her tear stained face...and nodded. She didn't want to be weak. She didn't want others to suffer like the old couple that had helped her. She wanted to become strong enough to stand on her own two feet without having people sacrifice themselves to save her. She wanted to be like the boy in front of her...Vahn stood up from his kneeling position and extended his hand towards the crying Lili. (A/N: Lili is quite smol so Vahn had to kneel to pat her~)"I am Vahn Mason. If you can trust me, I can help you find your way to the path you seek."Staring at the face of the boy, she couldn't help but imagine that the radiance of the cave had increased by several folds. After a brief hesitation...she grasped the outstretched hand."I'm Liliruca Arde. Please show me the way...Master Vahn."...[View Affection: Liliruca Arde] [Affection: 88[Trust], Intrigue:61[Curious](A/N: She uses Master at the end instead of Sama, because it's more personal. She sees Vahn as someone that can help her get stronger, instead of just as the boy who saved her.)

Vahn made his way through the first floor of the dungeon and followed the stairs down to the entrance of the fifth floor. Since he was able to outperform the efforts of a party of level 1 adventurers, he decided the first four floors were no longer capable of tempering his skills.Entering the fifth floor, the first thing he noticed was the change in the layout of the dungeon. The walls had become a light green color, and there was a murky patchwork of browns along the ground. The phosphorescence coming from the walls had changed from the gentle blue of the previous floors to a luminous green.Progressing further along the path, Vahn came across his first group of monsters of the fifth floor. Hopping around about 13m away was a total of three 'Frog Shooters'. They were each about 120cm tall and possessed a singular large eye. Their name came from how they attacked their enemies by 'firing' their tongue with enough force to shatter stone. For those unfortunate enough to take a direct hit, broken bones were often considered light injuries.Vahn took a deep breath before activating [Will of the Emperor] and drawing his sword. He increased his pace with each step as he began to close the distance to the three monsters.Shuddering after being encompassed by Vahn's domain, the three 'frog shooters' tried opening a gap with the approaching human. The closest one to Vahn's position tried to launch its tongue to halt his advance. Vahn rewarded its efforts by severing its tongue before using the momentum of his charge to press forward and bisect the now wailing frog.The remaining two attempted to aid their ally by attacking from Vahn's flanks, but he was able to dodge both surprise attacks by swiftly side-stepping between their trajectories. In less time than it took for them to retract the tongues, they saw the human approach with a deadly arc trailing behind his imposing figure.Vahn exhaled. He had managed to slay all three 'frog shooters' without taking a second breath. In total, less than six seconds had passed between the moment he drew his sword and the monsters had turned to dust.Vahn began to understand the principles behind [Will of the Emperor] somewhat. Though it didn't seem to offer an increase to his numerical stats, it most certainly enhanced his speed, strength, and perception to monstrous levels while active. There was a distinct difference between his capabilities with and without the skill, even though it didn't reflect within the parameters of the system.It was also important to note that, though his stats hadn't increased since his last venture into the dungeon the radius of his domain had grown from around 21 meters to 37 meters. It seemed to directly correlate to the strength of his conviction and desire to grow stronger.After slaying more than 40 'frog shooters', Vahn found his way to the next floor and immediately pressed onwards. He had been using [Will of the Emperor] intermittently instead of keeping it active at all times. Though he knew it likely affected his growth, Vahn wanted to increase his pace until he was able to reach a floor where he could put his current skills to the test. He used the time between activations to recover any mana that had been consumed during the skills use.Entering the sixth floor Vahn continued slaying every 'frog shooter' he came across. Though he was able to improve his footwork by dodging the tongues, he ended up swapping out his sword for his bow to increase the efficiency of clearing the floor. The large eyes of the frogs were the perfect target for honing his archery skills, and he was able to gain some experience predicting the trajectory of movements brought about by the synergy between [Bow Mastery] and [Will of the Emperor].An hour into the floor Vahn began to slow his pace. He had not come across a single 'frog shooter' for the last ten minutes and the phosphorescence of the surrounding area had progressively darkened over time. Giving in to his instincts, Vahn activated his domain to its maximum potential.He was able to detect movement coming from the darkness in his blind spot. He turned towards the source and readied his bow to intercept the approaching creature. Out of the darkness came two lumbering ' war shadows' that possessed two pairs of three razor-sharp claws. They looked similar to an effigy of a man, possessing all the basic features of a human without any defining characteristics.They moved awkwardly like marionettes before pausing just outside the effective range of Vahn's domain. As one of the creatures raised its hand to investigate the difference in pressure, Vahn fired an arrow directly into the white 'eye' on its face.*BOOOOM!!!*An explosion disintegrated the unsuspecting shadow and knocked it's companion into the wall causing its form to turn semi-transparent and flicker violently. Before it was able to recover, Vahn used his sword to impale its head into the wall causing it to turn to dust. He snorted as he picked up the two cores before noticing a sheen within the darkness nearby.Vahn walked over to investigate the object and found what appeared to be the claw of one of the 'war shadows' embedded into the ground. Recognizing it was probably a drop item, he picked it up and tested the sharpness before tossing it into his inventory.("War shadows should be the strongest individual monster between the fifth and seventh floors. Given how slow their reactions speed were, they probably aren't my match in groups small than five.")Continuing onwards, Vahn ended up slaying another 22 frog shooters and 5 war shadows, bring his total counts to 99 and 7 respectively. (A/N: He killed frogs on the sixth floor before encountering the first two shadows. The 22 mentioned were killed after the engagement~)Eventually finding his way to the staircase, Vahn decided to take a rest. At this point the system was showing the time was 10:40 PM and he needed to determine if he was going to sleep inside the dungeon or make his way to the entrance. After mulling it over for a few minutes, he decided to see if he was able to sleep while maintaining his domain. He told Sis to wake him if the domain de-activated or if an enemy showed up as she was able to perceive the world through his senses even when he was unconscious.Though he found it relatively easy to fall asleep, he would be woken up by Sis every two hours or so as the domain would become inactive. He determined that two hours was likely his current limit for maintaining the skill without focus and resolved to try to increase the duration in the future.After going through the process of sleeping and waking up four times, Vahn continued his descent into the dungeon. This would be the last full-day he could spend inside before having to leave.The gate pass he had received upon entering the City was about the expire, and he needed to pay Milan at the Inn so he could continue using the room he had leased. He had already begun to miss the taste of the dishes at the Hostess of Fertility, even though it had been less than two days since he had last eaten there.Before arriving at the 7th floor, Vahn decided to purchase a set of light-armor from the shop. He knew there would be a large variety of monsters on the seventh floor which typically required a group of adventurers to tackle. If he went in overconfident in his abilities, he would likely pay the price.Checking the monster compendium he had purchased before entering, he noted the unique traits and characteristic of the upcoming monsters. 'Killer Ants' had durable exoskeletons that could withstand blades, and they were prone to call for help when injured. 'Purple Moths' were relatively weak, but emitted a poisonous powder from their wings which could cause paralysis and internal bleeding if ingested. Lastly, he had to deal with the hyper agility and high-penetrative power of 'Needle Rabbits'. According to the book, they liked to swarm opponents and turn them into a pincushion before devouring the bloody remains.To counter each of the monsters, Vahn purchased a [Plague Mask: E] 40OP, [Nullifying Mantle: C] 280OP, [Mithril Poniard: B]500OP, and a pair of [Damascus-Steel Gauntlets: C]380OP.The mask would prevent him from inhaling the poisonous powder while the mantle would allow him to resist the effects if he happened to get poisoned anyways. The gauntlets and poniard were purchased specifically to counter the ants' exoskeleton and rabbits agility. Since he wasn't confident in being able to hit such small targets with a 130cm sword, he opted for a smaller weapon with high penetrative power.Satisfied with his preparations, Vahn decided to do one last thing before continuing onwards. He purchased a [Standing Mirror: I] 3OP, from the shop and used it to check his appearance. He almost looked like a villain with the beaked nose and hooded appearance, but also thought it looked a bit cool when he let the mask hang loosely around his neck. With a small smile on his face, he stored the mirror before moving into the adjoining corridor heading towards the seventh floor.The layout of the seventh floor was similar to the sixth and fifth except that the height of the ceiling had begun to noticeably increase. The dungeon also seemed to spawn larger groups of monsters, but Vahn was able to smoothly progress against everything except the needle rabbits. He had trouble stabbing their small bodies, and had even swapped to his sword for a moment to see if he could use the increased range to his advantage.After failing the attempt, he recalled the oppressive function of his domain and managed to temporarily stun individual rabbits before they were able to rebound off the wall and continue lunging at him. It lead to the hilarious sight of rabbits smashing head-first into walls, even getting their horns stuck on occasion leaving them easy pickings for Vahn's poniard.After fighting on the seventh floor four five hours he finally managed to reach the stairs. Though he had grown accustomed to their attack patterns, he still struggled quite a bit when larger groups of monsters tried to hoard him. He even had to ingest a 'senzu bean' after failing to evade an attack and being impaled through the ribcage by a needle rabbit. The impact had not only broken several ribs, but also collapsed one of his lungs. He barely managed to remove his mask before greedily devouring the life-saving bean.In response to his narrow escape, Vahn felt a marked increase in the strength of his domain and went on a rampage until he had slaughtered more than 50 rabbits before exhausting his strength and having to take a break. During this time, he was finally able to put his stealth capabilities to use as he blended into the shadows of a nearby rock that was strutting out of the cavern walls.Inside the stairwell, Vahn checked the time and noticed it was already after 2 PM, so he decided it was time to exit the dungeon to prevent future troubles. He moved up the stairs at a steady pace which would allow him to arrive at the entrance within half an hour.After passing by the sixth and fifth floor entrances, Vahn was quickly approaching the fourth floor. Ahead on the path he could see a small party of adventurers resting within the connecting area. Vahn didn't pay them any notice at first and continued upwards since they didn't seem to react much to his presence, but after a familiar figure caught his attention he began to slow to a stop.Vahn could see between the figure of the three men a small girl curled up on the ground. Her face was battered and bruised, and she had curled up into the fetal position to protect her body from the assault of the largest man in the group. As if sensing his gaze, she slightly opened the only eye which hadn't swolen shut and looked directly at him with her chestnut brown iris. Though she didn't say anything, he could see the desperation within her look as she implored him with her gaze.He recognized the girl as the companion that loyally followed Bell into the dungeon. It was Liliruca Arde, a girl with a past not too disimilar to his own. After the loss of her parents she was exploited by the people around her until the point she began to distrust everyone, even the people that actually cared about her.Without his prompting, [Will of the Emperor] activated as Vahn stepped towards the men. A cold sensation began to spread through his head and all thoughts vanished from his mind. The men shuddered as they were enveloped in the domain. As they looked towards Vahn, the smallest of their group began moving to intercept."Move along, this is private Familia business. Don't meddle in the things that don't concern you kid." The man used an aggressive tone, but there was a hint of fear hidden in his words.Ignoring the words of the man, Vahn drew his sword...

Chapter 31: Rage : Sacrifice(?)