Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After carrying Aki to her room, Vahn decided to get some fresh air and sat out on the balcony as he overlooked the property surrounding the Manor. It was already nearing 3 AM, so Vahn didn't see the point in returning to sleep after having been awoken and participating in a duel. Even though he had calmed down, Vahn still felt a bit of excitement that made his blood boil in anticipation. Since he had just recently fought with Tione, Vahn was a bit uncertain about the growth of his own strength. The duel with Tammuz had been a good opportunity for him to develop a bit of awareness for his own growth and he now realized that he was very strong, but could still grow much stronger. Even without delving into the dungeon, Vahn could fight well above his level depending on how he uses his skills in the future.Vahn didn't often have the opportunity to fight against strong opponents, and it was distinctly different from his experience fighting within the dungeon. Monsters were very strong, arguably stronger than most adventurers, but they had a very static way of fighting. As long as you could outmaneuver them and find an opening, it wasn't actually that difficult to defeat most monsters. Even something like the Goliath, a creature much stronger than himself, wasn't too difficult to defeat if he was properly prepared. If he fought it at his current strength, Vahn was confident he would defeat the titanic monster without taking a single hit. The important thing to note was that Vahn's actual strength hadn't grown much since then, yet his combat capabilities had drastically increased through practice and training. Just learning Shundo had pushed his capabilities to a point where most people, even those stronger than himself, weren't his opponents.After he leveled up a few more times, Vahn couldn't imagine another Adventurer being his opponent, even the 'monstrously strong' Ottar that he knew would be supporting Freya. Though Vahn had never met the man, his 'legend' was well known throughout the City and he was inarguably considered the strongest Adventurer because of his alias, The King. Vahn felt that, as long as he reached Level 5, even the 'strongest' Adventurer might not be his opponent if he avoided direct confrontation against him. Since he could freely maneuver within his domain, there weren't many, if any, opponents that would be able to land a hit on him. If he switched to ranged combat, or learned a few magic spells, Vahn felt like he would be unrivaled amongst his peers.Of course, this was assuming he could become strong enough to reach that point and obtain Level 5. Vahn knew it was actually very difficult to increase your parameters unless you were fighting against monsters that allowed you to push beyond your limits. Because he was already capable of fighting things above his level, it meant he would actually struggle to increase his parameters further. It wasn't a simple situation where he could just mindlessly kill monsters and eventually grew strong; Vahn had to genuinely expose himself to threats and overcome intense difficulties if he wanted to reach the point where he was without equal.This was the big reason most people never got beyond Level 3, much less the rare adventurer's that reached Level 5. As your capabilities increased, and you used higher quality equipment, it actually became increasingly difficult to become stronger. This was why the Loki Familia used a rather strenuous method to increase their strength, which was to allow their members to fight against powerful variants and bosses on their own. They would only step in if the person was unable to defeat their opponent, but this didn't remove the threat completely. One accident would result in someone dying, and there was actually a high mortality rate amongst rookie adventurers and supporters that accompanied the expeditions.Vahn began to wonder if there was a more efficient way to increase strength, not only for himself, but for the benefit of his allies and those within his own Familia. He had already observed from watching Ryuu and Fenrir, but they gained almost nothing from killing monsters on the upper floors. Fenrir had probably slain well over ten-thousand monsters and had only marginally increased her status. Since Vahn was somewhat overprotective, he couldn't easily watch those within his charge expose themselves to danger. This might protect their lives, but it also stunted their growth because they had a mental reliance on him and knew he would always step in to save them.Vahn released a sigh that caused a large cloud of condensation to build up before dispersing in the surroundings. Just his normal body temperature was enough to make steam rise from his exposed skin while he was sitting idly on the edge of the balcony. Right now, it was cold enough that ice was building up on the grass within the courtyard yet Vahn was able to sit with his torso exposed without any discomfort whatsoever. He was acclimating himself to being in his Xuánwǔ form and he drew a striking sight for anyone that might be observing from the distance.----Within the highest floor of Babel Tower, a beautiful silver-haired goddess dazedly stared into a giant mirror that glowed with a magical light. Because of the angle, she could see Vahn sitting on the edge of his balcony with the cloudy sky and waning moon was a backdrop. She had a fervent expression on her face as a strange red glow was reflected in her eyes as she marveled at his figure under the influence of his Xuánwǔ transformation. Other than when he was within the protective formations of the Manor, the goddess had been watching his every move after knowing about the movements of Tammuz. Since Ishtar often interfered with her plans, the goddess, Freya, also kept tabs on her and had been observing the progress of events to see if she could find a method to garner Vahn's attention.Even though Hephaestus had restricted her from approaching Vahn, it didn't mean she couldn't find ways to make him want to come to her. Freya might not be able to do things directly, but if his actions overlapped with her own plans there was always a way around the vow that kept her at bay. Now that her enemy, Ishtar, was also the enemy of Vahn, Freya was very tempted to deal with the problematic goddess. Even without approaching Vahn, there was a chance he would come to her after the fact since she knew his character was very 'genuine'. If nothing else, she could use it as leverage against Hephaestus and Loki to ease tensions and potentially have the vow she was under revoked.Though he couldn't feel her touch, Freya stroked Vahn's face through the reflection and had an enamored look in her eyes as she whispered, "Vahn...when will you be mine~? Do you not grow tired of the company of such troublesome girls...should I perhaps rid you of them to make your life easier? Nnnn~" Freya kissed the reflection of Vahn and laid against the reflective surface of the magical tool as if her actions could bring her closer to the boy contained within. As Freya's vow only restricted her from scheming to interfere with Vahn, there was nothing that protected the other girls from her unless she specifically did it to get to Vahn.There were loopholes to everything, and Freya was very experienced with getting her way if it came down to it. She couldn't stand to see someone with so much potential escape her grasp, especially after watching him dominate someone above his own level...his figure when he was fighting was already deeply engraved in her body, especially when he had the tyrannical look on his face when he burned the eyes of his opponent. The moment he had stabbed Tammuz through the heart, Freya felt as if her own heart had been prodded and she couldn't help but climax a little.Freya released a hot sigh that marred the surface a bit as she comforted herself overtop Vahn's reflection. A deep blush began to cover her face as she traced her free hand over the figure of Vahn and imagined what it would be like if they were together. All she needed was a single instance and he would be her's forever...this thought alone, where Vahn serviced her with his stoic and tyrannical expression was enough to bring her to the height of pleasure. She wanted to cultivate his potential and see how far he could grow since even she couldn't see his limits without being able to observe his soul.She knew he was definitely keeping it hidden somewhat because she had been keeping track of the events involving the Anubis and Osiris Familia's in the past. For someone like Anubis to begin following Vahn after their first meeting, Freya knew there was something incredibly unique about Vahn's soul even without seeing it for herself. This was the only reason she could think of for someone like Hephaestus, who typically avoided contact with people, and the trickster goddess Loki to band together and protect him.Freya moaned loudly and collapsed against the reflective surface of the magic tool before removing her hand and blankly staring at the moisture on her fingers. She gingerly extended her tongue to sample her own flavor before a drop of moisture fell onto the image of Vahn below her. She looked down at his face, solemnly staring into the distance while wearing the moon as his silhouette before wiping her own nectar across the reflection of his body. Even though it wasn't really Vahn, Freya felt a possessive desire and called out, "Ottar...gather everyone. Ishtar has interfered with my affairs for far too long as is..." As her words fell, a large silhouette that had been watching the events from start to finish nodded before responding, "As you will."As Ottar exited the room, Freya stood up and the magic tool grew dim as the image of Vahn faded away. She walked into the adjacent room, which was a boudoir that contained an ensemble of outfits. Freya dragged her finger along the incredibly expensive assortment of dresses and mused aloud, "I wonder...what is the most appropriate dress to wear when sending off a dear friend~?" Freya's hand stopped on a beautiful black one-piece dress that had a deep v-cut on the front and completely exposed the back. It was form fitting and made of an incredibly expensive silk that could only be obtained from the Far East. Even though it had no defensive capabilities, the dress cost a total of 20,000,000 Valis and Freya thought it was suitable for the occasion.After removing the dress from the hangar, Freya laid it against the intricately designed chaise lounge as the godly attire she was wearing began to fall as petals to the floor. If Vahn had been present, he would have noticed the dress disassembled in the same way as Hestia's, even though it was predominantly black with red petals instead of the pure white of Hestia's. Though there was no one present to admire her figure, Freya still cut a beautiful image in the low-light of the room as she stood with her body completely exposed to the night air. She traced her hands along her body and mused toward the moon overhead, "I wonder when you'll warm my cold body...Vahn."---Unaware of the death sentence that had been passed on her, a beautiful brown-skinned goddess kicked the relatively handsome messenger that had been kneeling at her feet. She had just learned that Tammuz had not only failed his mission, but he had even died at the hands of the boy she currently set her sights on. She chewed the long fingernail of her thumb and had a vexxed look on her face as she shouted, "Phyrene, isn't there something we can do about this situation? Can't you send Aisha to crush that puny little Familia and get back my slave!?"In response to Ishtar's outburst, a massive lump of flesh in the shape of a woman rolled over to stare at the anxious Ishtar. She was more than 200cm in height and weighed more than 240kg and had the face of a frog with 'healthy' brown skin and somewhat visible muscles. Though there were few people that would agree with the claim, this titanic lump of flesh was the Captain of the Ishtar Familia and considered herself to be the most beautiful woman within the entire group, even compared to the Goddess of Beauty, Ishtar.After tracing her thick tongue across her lips, the Amazon named Phyrene looked at Ishtar through beady eyes and said, "Why are you always so stupid Ishtar-sama? The whole reason you sent that dumbass was because the Alliance would have come to protect the Hestia Familia if we took any major action. All you're doing is making matters more troublesome, and now we even lost a combatant even though there is an upcoming Wargames."Ishtar scowled at Phyrene and shouted, "I don't see you coming up with any ideas! If we can't recover that Renard brat, there would be no way for us to oppose Freya in the future. Damnit, why am I surrounded by lazy incompetents while that bitch gets to surround herself with handsome men all day..." In response to Ishtar, Phyrene spat a large wad of spit onto the ground and remarked, "What an ugly personality...blaming others because of your own ineptitude. Well, whatever, as long as we deal with the Loki Familia in the future we'll be able to recover that brat and then you can do whatever you want with her. I want that boy though, yeah, Vahn Mason was it? I'm certain he'll be able to appreciate my beauty, wahahahahahaha~!" Phyrene, though it had never been proven, had a reputation as a 'man-killer', preferring young boys to actual men. Her alias had even been decided as 'Androctonus', which literally meant 'Man-Killer'. Because of her massive frame and status as a Level 5, Phyrene had killed a total of 103 'boys' after forcibly sleeping with them in the past. To cover her crimes, she would pummel them into an unrecognizable state before disposing of them in the sewers below the City.Hearing Phyrene's desire to obtain Vahn, Ishtar screeched, "No, I won't let you spoil another handsome boy! I need someone to replace Tammuz now, so you'll have to find someone else to sate your ridiculous little fetish!" Phyrene grunted before rolling over and rising to her feet. She towered over Ishtar and stated plainly, "We'll see who gets their hands on him first then. I'd like to see what you can do with him when I'm done with him, wahahahahaha~!" Without paying any respects to her goddess, Phyrene walked out of the large hall and went to look for something to release her own urges on. She proudly claimed herself to be the most beautiful and sought-after prostitute within the entire Familia and actively 'chose' her clients. If they weren't willing to pay up for her 'services', Phyrene had no trouble providing an extra service, which often involved helping them pick out a comfortable place to sleep for the night...and every night thereafter.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'What it takes to become stronger','Freya's Intrigue','Beauty is in the eye of the beholder')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

As Phyrne made her way through the corridors of the Belit Babili, the Ishtar Familia compound, she came across a group of fellow Amazons and remarked with a snide tone, "Shouldn't you ugly bitches be guarding the perimeter or off earning some money for the Familia? Why are you lazing about here like a bunch of idiots, huh~!?" The primary target of her snide remarks had been a relatively seductive looking Amazoness with a lean figure and very revealing clothing reminiscent of a dancer. She was currently the second highest authority within the Ishtar Familia, just behind Phyrne, and also the leader of their primary fighting force, the Amazon combat troupe, Berbera. If Vahn had been present, he would have recognized the beautiful woman as Aisha Belka, the Amazon he had freed from Ishtar's charm during the rescuing of Haruhime.Aisha stared at Phyrne with venomous eyes and stated plainly, "We know about what happened to Tammuz, so I had everyone gather just in case something happened. That boy, Vahn Mason, has incredible infiltration skills and might attack if we lax our guard." The large group of Amazons behind her nodded their heads in agreement while Phyrne spat a large wad of spit directly onto Aisha's chest and said, "Eh, you would be the one to know that kind of thing after you let that snot-nosed kid steal that bitch out from under your nose, wouldn't you~!? Well, whatever, go and find me a handsome boy and bring him to my quarters unless you want to be their replacement!"Without waiting for Aisha's response, Phyrne walked away while laughing boisterously in a manner reminiscent of some crazed animal. Aisha wiped the spit from her face with a cloth that had been handed to her by a nearby Amazon. She saw it had a disgusting green and yellow hue and felt a strong urge to vomit before seeking out Phyrne and fighting her to the death. If not for the fact she wasn't a match for the frog-like behemoth, Aisha wouldn't stand by and accept such mistreatment. Her primary concern right now, however, was trying to convince the other members of Berbera to avoid any future conflicts that might find their way to the Ishtar Familia. She didn't want to draw attention to her actions by opposing Phyrne, who she had no chance to defeat in combat. Even if she used poison, the monstrous Amazon had an S rank resistance against abnormal status effects.After the blob of flesh had disappeared through a corridor, Aisha turned to the group of Amazons and said, "As long as Phyrne is in charge, the Ishtar Familia will continue down a path that puts all of our lives at stake. We can't continue to wait for Ishtar to lead us to our deaths as she provokes the alliance between the Hephaestus and Loki Familia. After Tammuz's invasion of the Hearth Manor, we need to be prepared for a counterattack and use the opportunity to escape. I know most of you have no real loyalty to Ishtar, so this is the best opportunity for us free ourselves from her licentious clutches."For the past few days, Aisha had been proactively colluding with the members of Berbera to stage something akin to a coup in an effort to escape Ishtar's clutches. Fortunately, Ishtar wasn't capable of managing things on her own and had almost zero leadership capabilities. Because of this, she had put Aisha in charge of Berbera in an effort to 'shame' her for having the 'audacity' to protect Haruhime in the past. Even though the members of the combat troupe were 'loyal' to Ishtar because of the effects of her charm, they had also been ordered by her to follow Aisha's commands. Though Vahn hadn't realized it at the time, he had set events in motion that would inevitably change the lives of dozens of people after freeing Aisha from Ishtar's control.As if set about by some divine cue, a loud explosion sounded within an area of the Belit Babili, ironically in the direction that Phyrne had disappeared to earlier. Aisha wasn't sure what was going on, but she assumed it was related to Vahn and the Alliance at large. She knew the boy was the decisive type, so it made sense to her that he would use the opportunity after being attacked to seek vengeance against Ishtar. Without delay, she turned to the largest combat potential of the Ishtar Familia and said, "We're moving, don't fall behind. If you wish to die for Ishtar, feel free to stay." Aisha motioned for the troupe to move and led more than thirty Amazons, eleven of which were Level 3, away from the sound of conflict. Their destination was the brothels owned by the Ishtar Familia, and their mission was to gather as many Amazons as possible and urge them to escape the aftermath.---Phyrne had been very pleased with Aisha expression when she spat in the ugly girl's face. She never liked the way the inferior Amazon looked at her and wanted to teach her a lesson but spared her since it was a hassle to manage things on her own. Phyrne would rather drink delicious alcohol, eat whatever she fancied, and sleep with whoever she pleased. The only thing she was missing in her life was a 'worthy' man to sire her some children and was now eyeing Vahn with the intent of adding him to her collection. Though she destroyed the bodies of the men she had killed, Phyrne had a habit of preserving their genitals within jars that were hidden away in her private residence.Wondering about the 'worth' of Vahn, Phyrne nearly stumbled into a figure that walked out and blocked her path. She stared down at the small figure and shouted, "The fuck are you standing in my way for you little shit!?" However, the moment she saw the figure completely, Phyrne's frog-like eyes widened into saucers as she jumped back and barely evaded the spear strike that would have pierced her neck. The 'small figure' had been a cat person wearing pitch-black armor that included a visor that covered his eyes. He had onyx-grey hair and carrying an unadorned silver spear that shone with a lethal light. Even though they hadn't met often, Phyrne immediately recognized the cat person as Allen Fromel, one of Freya's loyal subordinates.Were it almost anyone else, Phyrne would have crushed the 'foolish' person that attacked her, but Allen was Level 6, and closer to Level 7 than she was Level 6. Since he was an agility fighter and notorious for his skill with a spear, there was no way for Phyrne to actually fight against him without assistance. As she evaded his strike again, Phyrne shouted in a shrill tone, "Why the fuck are you here Allen!? Don't tell me that ugly bitch Freya is helping that brat too!?" The moment she uttered the words 'ugly bitch Freya', Allen's ears twitched and a visible red light shone through his black visor.Phyrne felt a powerful premonition of dread overtake her as a cold sweat built up on her already clammy skin. Without even seeing the path of the spear, Phyrne felt a powerful collision near her own heart as her body flew through the air and collided with a wall, destroying it in the process. She coughed up a mouthful of blood as heavy steps echoed from the corridor that she had just been sent flying from. Before she could climb from the debris, Phyrne her a cold voice speak through clenched teeth, "You filthy sow...you dare insult my goddess with your vile mouth!? Go die you frog-faced slut~!" Allen leaped through the hole and created by Phyrne's body and began thrusting his spear toward her appendages in an attempt to disable her. Even though he told her to die, he actually intended to cripple her permanently so she would spend the rest of her life suffering.Even though she knew she wasn't a match for Allen, Phyrne did her best to trade blows with the much smaller cat person. He was more than 30cm shorter than she was and less than a third of her weight. All she had to do was land one good blow with her [Fist Strike] and she would be able to turn the fight in her favor. Unfortunately, Allen was far too quick for her and accurately targeted near her vitals without actually piercing them. It was an incredibly one-sided fight because he was far more nimble than she was and outranged her with the use of his silver spear. In less than ten minutes, she had more than thirty wounds all over her body before she screamed out like an animal being slaughtered, "WHERE THE FUCK IS EVERYONE!?"Since it hadn't been that long since she separated from Aisha and the Berbera, Phyrne had some small hope that reinforcements would arrive to help her. However, the longer the fight dragged out, the more injured she became and the less likely it seemed she would survive even if help arrived. She had tried to heal some of the wounds on her body, but noticed that Allen's weapon seemed to carry some kind of curse that prevented the wounds from closing. She was steadily losing blood and had already started to become light-headed from the severity of her injuries.Though it wasn't the true answer to her question, Allen showed a cruel smile and said, "Scream you dirty pig! Lo and behold, the intrepid and mighty Phyrne, the touted 'Man-Killer', bested by a man half her size~! I'd say you're enjoying your just desserts, but I can tell by you're figure you've more than indulged plenty, hahahahaha!" At this point, they were no longer fighting each other in a life and death struggle. In the ten minutes they had been fighting, Allen had spent the majority of the last five just playing with Phyrne. It was rare he had such a 'large' target without it being an actual monster, so he was curious to see just how much blood she could lose before passing out. Though he couldn't be sure, he was almost certain she had lost enough to fill an entire washbasin.Unable to continue the fight, Phyrne kneeled and looked down on Allen as she asked, "What is your purpose here Allen? Even if Ishtar and Freya are enemies, there is no enmity between the two of us...if you spare me, I'll willingly become your woman and let you do whatever you want with my bo-." Before she could continue her words, Allen's spear cut through Phyrne's mouth and severed her tongue while destroying several of her teeth. He literally spat his response, "Fuck you, you filthy fucking pig! You think I'd give up my goddess for a literal sow!?"Phyrne held her hands to her mouth and mumbled inaudible words before launching a desperate series of attacks toward Allen with the hopes of landing a lucky blow. She knew that she would die if she couldn't defeat him in the next few minutes and find a way to stop the flow of blood from her wounds. However, no matter how much she tried to push her wounded body, she was already much slower than she was at the beginning of the fight. Even when he was enraged, Allen still fought with a level-headed mentality and easily avoided all her desperate blows while severing the tendons in her arms and legs with ease. After a long string of attacks, Phyrne eventually fell face-first into the ground with glossed eyes that were quickly losing their light.(A/N: Serious trigger warning ahead. Nothing 'significant' happens after this point, so move on if you have weaker sensibilities~!)Seeing Phyrne fall to the ground, Allen walked around her gigantic body and confirmed that he had cut all of her tendons. Even if she was 'playing dead' and wanted to get him to drop his guard, there was nothing she could do with her body in the current state. A cruel glint appeared in the red eyes shining through the black visor as Allen walked over to one of the windows that was fixed with iron bars, almost like a prison. He swiped his spear across and picked up several of the long metal rods in his hand as he made his way over to the catatonic Phyrne.Uttering a short chant, Allen gathered flames in his hands and began to heat up the rods as he remarked, "So the reputed Androctonus falls to a man, rather ironic isn't it~? Well, I wouldn't want you to be lonely after you made an effort to seduce me, now would I? Here, as a parting gift, I'll leave you with an everlasting memory of today's events." With a crazed look in his eyes, Allen went around to the backside of Phyrne and skewered the damp mound of flesh with the red-hot metal pipes. She squealed like a pig and managed to move her limbs slightly even though the tendons were cut. Incited by her muffled squeals, the cruel glint in Allen's eyes grew in intensity as he inserted the remaining five rods alongside the first one. Even though the putrid smell of burnt flesh made him slightly nauseous, he couldn't help but feel a sadistic glee in Phyrne's suffering. From the moment she slandered his goddess, Allen had decided that her fate would not be a kind one.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Aisha's Plan : Ripples of Fate','Phyrne engages a handsome man','Smells like teen spirit')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

From the moment Vahn transformed into his Xuánwǔ form and began to glow, Tammuz's expression became especially serious. Without waiting any further, he kicked off from the ground to try and subdue Vahn before things got out of hand. Unexpectedly, instead of trying to evade as he had done previously, Vahn stood his ground and struck forward with a precise strike at Tammuz's chest. Since he figured something was abnormal, Tammuz dodged the blow by twisted his body and vaulting toward Vahn's flank. During the motion, he felt an intense heat pass near his torso and looked toward Vahn with a fierce glare.Since he had recently just 'exposed' himself during the fight with Tione, Vahn had purchased a pair of trousers that were incredibly resistant to heat. They weren't fire-proof, but they would be able to last for a while as long as he only heated up certain parts of his body. He was, however, completely topless in the cold air as heat radiated from his body in waves. His muscles were exposed and his healthy tanned skin covered in tattoos was clearly visible to any observers. Because his muscles became slightly larger in his Xuánwǔ form, Vahn currently looked as though he had a tyrannical strength and Tammuz could feel the pressure.Instead of trying to trade blows directly, Tammuz pulled out several nail-like projectiles and threw them fast enough to make popping sounds in the air. They passed through the after-image of Vahn and buried themselves deep into the ground more than 40m away. Tammuz frowned and rolled forward before vaulting off his hand after evading Vahn's kick. He could feel the intense heat from the blows and knew it wouldn't be easy to resist unless he was looking for an internecine outcome. Curiously, Tammuz noticed that Vahn wasn't moving around much compared to his actions when he was a 'weretiger'.Though he couldn't be sure, Tammuz thought that Vahn had given up his mobility in exchange for power and endurance. Since the movement technique he used had the fluctuations of mana, it would be possible to turn the fight into a battle of attrition if he planned things well. The problem was that Vahn was able to use 'storage magic' and Tammuz couldn't even begin to guess how many recovery items he might have within. It might be a difficult fight, but it seemed the only way to progress was to suffer a bit and then get healed later.Vahn noticed that Tammuz had taken on a more defensive stance and didn't seem to be willing to trade blows with him directly. It was a bit annoying since he wasn't able to test his Xuánwǔ form if the opponent wasn't willing to actually fight him. Vahn began to realize that it wasn't always advantageous to use techniques that the opponent didn't expect. When against a veteran fighter, they would evaluate any new changes and try to find a countermeasure instead of tackling the matter head-on. Now Vahn understood why information about people was often highly sought after and could cost an incredible amount of Valis to obtain. If you knew all of your opponent's skills, you could formulate a strategy to deal with them easily. Since Tammus knew next to nothing about his actual abilities, he was playing it safe and being more reactive than proactive.For a brief moment, Vahn humored the idea of removing the fire elements from his body to try and draw in Tammuz, but it didn't seem like a rational idea unless he was able to somehow convince him that he was running low on mana. Since Vahn wasn't the greatest at 'deceiving' others, he didn't have a lot of confidence in pulling it off without actually exposing himself. He had let Tione keep the effigy, and he was now realizing he should have perhaps kept it for himself. Ever since he was 'instantly killed' by Tione's accidental strike, Vahn knew that a fight could change in an instant if he dropped his guard.Thinking Vahn had dropped his guard, Tammuz pulled out a single, long, nail and threw it toward Vahn's leg with an incredible force. Without even putting in much effort to evade, Vahn widened his footing a bit and the nail passed harmlessly in the ground behind him. Even if he didn't 'seem' to be paying attention to Tammuz, his training with Tsubaki was deeply ingrained into his body. Since everything currently was happening within his domain, Vahn was almost untouchable unless the opponent could do something to drastic to distract him. Using the incredible brief window when Tammus had shifted his weight to throw the nail, Vahn stepped forward with Shundo as a green glow emerged from his scales.Tammuz backstepped to evade the blow, but he hadn't expected that Vahn's attack didn't require him to actually make contact. Vahn had converged the shockwave that would have resulted from his attack and compressed it to a point before releasing it in front of his hand. Instead of dissipating into the air, the compressed force shot forward like an air cannon and slammed into Tammuz's body before sending him backward nearly ten meters. Before he had the chance to recover, Vahn had already appeared behind him and sent a powerful side-kick to Tammuz's exposed back.Since he was still receiving the 'air cannon', Tammuz wasn't able to react to the blow from his blindspot and felt his bones creak under the force of Vahn's kick as the back of his tunic and the skin beneath began to burn away. He vaulted through the air once again and tried to recover, but Vahn appeared right in front of him with wide eyes and a somewhat tyrannical expression on his face with an uncharacteristically cruel smile. This was a trait Vahn had developed while soloing in the dungeon back when he was more active. Whenever he got deeply invested in combat, the cold sensation in his mind would continue to grow stronger and he felt compelled to dominate whatever he was fighting. It wasn't a simple rush of adrenaline, but the [Heart of the Eternal Flame] was pumping an incredible amount of oxygen-rich blood through his body and made him feel a little giddy and excitable.Vahn struck forward once again as the tattoo on his back glowed with a golden light before the scales on his forearm expanded slightly with green runes present in the centers of each one. Tammuz gnashed his teeth and tried to protect himself but was unable to resist the force since he had previously been sent flying by Vahn. Without hesitating for a single instant, Vahn brought his arm forward like a guillotine and connected his forearm with the cross-guard of Tammuz as he aimed for the neck. Since he wasn't able to completely defend against the blow, Vahn smashed Tammuz's own limbs into his neck and body before sending him spinning on the spot several times before he collided hard with the ground.Before Tammuz was able to recover from the blow, Vahn used several chains of [Enkidu] to appear near the ground and arch over Tammuz's body before pulling them tight and pinning him to the ground. Most of the chains wrapped around his body, but Vahn had managed to get one around his thighs while another had managed to slip through his guard and was firmly pinning down Tammuz's neck. For a brief instant, Vahn had a strange desire to smash Tammuz's head like a watermelon since he still had a condescending glare in his eyes. Instead, Vahn decided to change his expression a bit and converged a small number of fire elements into the exposed ocular devices of Tammuz. Though it wasn't enough to permanently blind him, it was still an incredibly painful attack and there was nothing he could do to protect himself even by closing his eyes.Tammuz screamed out in pain, but Vahn stopped his cries by tightening the chain around his neck and temporarily stopping the flow of air. When his face began to turn purple and he had 'calmed down', Vahn eased up the chains a bit and said, "Don't move; if you piss me off any further, you won't be able to blame me for what happens." Tammuz tried to refute Vahn's words, but the only thing he got for his troubles was [Enkidu] tightening around his neck and body. There was nothing he could do but stare as Vahn placed his hand upon his head and a powerful energy began to pass through his body.Since he had experience with it, Vahn was able to dispel the charm effect from Tammuz's mind before pressing several points within his chest and abdomen to seal any chance he would have of trying to fight back when Vahn released him. When he was done, Vahn loosened the chains a bit, but didn't release Tammuz as he asked, "Tell me, do you still act in the interests of Ishtar?" Vahn knew that, even if someone was under the effects of charm, it wouldn't change their base personality much. If Tammuz was still hostile toward him, there wasn't any reason to let him continue putting the people he cared about in danger.Without any hesitation, Tammuz tried to spit toward Vahn as he shouted, "You think you can change my loyalty to my Mistress with your paltry tricks!? You overestimate yourself; you and your little Familia will be destroyed for having the audacity to interfere with my goddess's plans!" Vahn nodded his head with an 'approving' smile as he said amicably, "Your loyalty is impressive, commendable even..." Then, without any hesitation, Vahn pulled out a non-descript black blade before driving it straight into Tammuz's heart. Since he was still a Level 4, Tammuz didn't immediately die as he resisted against the chains and tried to pull the sword out of his chest. Vahn bowed his head slightly and continued his words, "I hope she remembers everything you did for her in her final days." His words finished, Vahn twisted the sword and Tammuz instantly died from the severe trauma.Since it had been a 'duel', and he hadn't gone out of his way to excessively hurt Tammuz, Vahn got a surprising amount of good karma from the fight while only accumulating 2 points of negative karma. He suspected it was probably due to the fact that he had 'slightly' burned Tammuz's eyes earlier. As he wasn't able to fight back, it was an unnecessary action while the execution of Tammuz had been because of personal differences and not an actual grudge. Tammuz was genuinely willing to do whatever it took, including harming the people he cared about, all to appease Ishtar. Since he was in direct confrontation to Vahn, there was no negative karma involved in their dispute and Vahn actually got 'rewarded' for all the terrible things Tammuz had done in the name of his loyalty in the past.For a short while, Vahn considered if he should turn Tammuz's corpse over to the authorities, or if he should inform the Alliance through the network so they could take action. Eventually, Vahn decided to not use the corpse of a person to send a message or as a tool to be exploited by others. Though his reasons were misguided, Tammuz was a loyal subordinate and had fought against Vahn in a relatively straightforward manner. Since Vahn had learned much from the fight, he didn't want to desecrate the corpse of his opponent so he performed a short burial rite before cremating the remains.Within Tammuz's belongings, there was a small locket that showed the picture of a relatively beautiful brown-skinned woman with amorous eyes. Vahn assumed the image belonged to Ishtar and he was able to see the initials T.B. underneath the picture. Considering it might be a memento, even though Vahn owed nothing to Ishtar, he decided to return it to her in the future. Even if she didn't personally care for it, it could be used to decorate her altar if she continued trying to pry into the lives of the people he cared about...After spreading Tammuz's ashes in the garden, Vahn informed Aki of everything that happened so she could spread word on the network. Other than Hestia, Aki also had two different scrolls within her room. One of them connected to the network, while the other specifically only transmitted to Loki. She had told Vahn about it, and he knew she was keeping tabs on both himself and Hestia while also regulating things within the Familia on his behalf. Though he realized it could be related to one of Loki's schemes, Vahn was able to tell that Aki had no ill-will towards him and he still informed Hestia about anything that happened so the network would always be aware of what was going on. The only reason he didn't tell her now was that it was very early in the morning and Vahn didn't want to blow the 'relatively minor' event out of proportion.Leaving Aki's room, Vahn made his way to the bath and soaked his body for a short while to remove the layer of sweat that had covered his body. Most of his sweat actually evaporated when he had drawn fire elements into his body, but it didn't mean he had stopped perspiring altogether. Whenever his blood was pumping rapidly, Vahn actually used up a fair amount of energy to maintain his actions. The moment he released his tensions and returned to his human form, Vahn began to sweat profusely even though it was -4 degrees Celcius outside.During his bath, Vahn was able to detect the presence approaching and knew it was most likely Aki since everyone else was currently asleep. As expected, she showed up within the onsen a few minutes later and was completely naked. Vahn gave her a smile and made a bit of room so she could dip into the onsen next to him. Since he was bathing alone, he was using the same small pool that he had shared with Ryuu and Hestia in the past. She told him about the messages she had received from Loki while they cuddled together for a bit in the bath and shared some minor intimacy between each other for around half an hour. To reward her for her 'hard work' so early in the morning, Vahn gave her a minor massage after she sat in his lap once again, this time completely naked...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Learning Through Experience','Tammuz's Loyalty','Aki working overtime')If you'd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful &lt;3https://www.*******.com/user?u=14397149

Chapter 294: Reflection