Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

The fact that a new 'lake' had appeared to the north of the City had been a big deal, especially with the rumors circulating about how it was created. Siegfried's collapse of the land had caused it to merge together with an aqueduct and, after a bit of rainfall that appeared in the sky later that day, it had quickly turned into a small lake with a steep incline leading down to the crystal clear surface of the water below. Those that showed up in the area to investigate were awed by the sheer size of the sinkhole that had been created, as an attack capable of changing the landscape in a 3km radius was beyond the comprehension of most people. Knowing that the event was somehow related to Vahn, who had returned to the City, seemingly unscathed, left a deep impression on their hearts and minds.As for Vahn himself, his only real concern at the time had been returning home to make good on his promise to spend time with Ina, Vana, Erika, Alexa, and his infant children, Meinya, Anise, and Sakuya. Though he did spend a fair amount of time debriefing with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, Eina, and Syr, that hadn't taken too long. Loki, being the ever-reliable goddess she had proven herself to be, decided to investigate matters through her own networks but, learning that Vahn had actually managed to place a tracking ward on Siegfried, she had nearly keeled over in laughter. After that, he had been 'freed' to spend time with his children while the Goddesses talked amongst themselves about how to deal with Zeus and Hera.Though Zeus had been very troublesome to deal with, Hera was arguably the worse of the two since she often enabled Zeus' antics. Her Familia had its fair share of capable Adventurers, but it almost existed solely to support the Zeus Familia back during their era. Many of her Familia members had actually been capable female Adventurer's and Supporters, with only a few Elite men as her Executives, many of which had moved into the Hera Familia from Zeus' own. This had been one of the methods they used to 'empower' the mentality of Heroes, as being waited on by the members of the second most powerful Familia was a big ego boost for budding 'Heroes'.As for why Hera supported Zeus' antics so willingly, it was because they were one of the few married couples amongst the gods. With Divinities related to Marriage, Family, and Domesticity, Hera had always supported her husband, regardless of the foolish decisions he made. To counteract his complete lack of regard for consequences, she had put in a serious effort to change her own nature to be calm and calculating. The only time her true nature showed through was during the times Zeus would, inevitably, cheat on her with another woman. It wasn't uncommon for the women that had been favored by Zeus to simply 'disappear' soon after, with the only exceptions being those that miraculously got pregnant. Even so, the mothers always seemed to die during childbirth, or shortly thereafter...It was surprising to any of the goddesses within the Hearth Manor that Hera was supporting Zeus, as it would have been far more surprising to learn she hadn't been. Even so, the fact that she had shown up with two Heroes that had 'died' long ago raised several flags, especially since Vahn speculated that Siegfried had been around Level 9, while Jeanne seemed to be around the peak of Level 8. Currently, other than Vahn and Terra, they didn't have any means to put up meaningful resistance against such powerhouses, especially if there were even more hidden cards held by Zeus and Hera than had been revealed. The fact that Vahn had the insight to mark Siegfried made Loki feel incredibly vindicated for having fallen in love with him...Ultimately, it was decided that a larger focus would be placed on the training of everyone within the Manor, though the main focus would be on the 'core' of the group. This consisted of Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Lili, Lefiya, Mikoto, and Arnya. Though the other girls would still become very powerful in their own rights, they didn't have the same level of dedication to the pursuit of strength as aforementioned eight. It was likely that girls like Tina and Shizune might actually exceed the growth of the 'older' girls, but that would take a few years at the earliest. With the Sub-Space orb, this time would be greatly reduced, but it might affect them negatively to hole themselves up in the orb all the time.As for everyone else in the Manor, with the obvious exclusion of Vahn, Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and Fenrir, they would essentially fall into support roles, at least when it came to fighting against such powerful enemies. Emiru and Maemi, though possessing a strong drive to become stronger, weren't really frontline combatants just yet. They also spent the least amount of time within the orb so, unless their service mentality changed, it wasn't that likely for their strength to increase too much in the interim. Then there were the people like Tsubaki, Lunoire, and Milan, each capable warriors that could become stronger, but fundamentally lacked the resolve to do so in a meaningful way.Tsubaki was a true warrior at heart but, now that she had a daughter of her own, she placed a much bigger focus on her daughter and preparing for her duties at the School. Though she would still live for a very long time, she already had the mentality of passing on the torch to the next generation. This was somewhat true for Milan as well, who had already retired previously and was now almost fully invested in the growth of her daughter. As for Lunoire, the 'dream' she had held close to her heart for so long had affected her mentality almost irreversibly.Though she was currently working hard to become stronger, the desire to simply have a family of her own, and taking care of the children within the Manor was slowly beginning to drain away her motivation to train. This was a similar mentality to Aki, who had seriously been considering her own retirement and just becoming a 'secretary' for Vahn. To a lesser extent, Riveria and Ryuu were also affected by this mentality, though the latter truly intended to work hard to become stronger after the birth of her daughter. Riveria's focus, however, was on the matters related to the Elven Kingdom and, as Vahn had been privy to hearing about quite often lately, how she planned to try and raise their son.Riveria was too focused on the future and, though her pursuit of knowledge hadn't really diminished, she was more than likely going to end up as just the Department Head of the School before becoming the Headmaster of the Academy that would be built in Haven. At the same time, she would be raising their son to potentially become the King of the Elves, though only if it was a path they chose to walk willingly. With how things had devolved, Riveria wasn't even sure making an Elven 'Kingdom' was even a good idea anymore. Instead, she felt it might be better to just have a council of sorts to manage the affairs of their people, this time without allowing people to selfishly consolidate power based solely on blood purity.Wrapping up the group, there were girls like Naaza, Preasia, Eina, Syr, and, to a lesser extent, Risna. Though they might become strong enough to protect themselves, they were considered non-combatants with a more support oriented role. Naaza wanted to become a capable [Alchemist], while Preasia's dream, for lack of a better descriptive, was to be a physician. She was learning from Vahn personally and had made great strides in her understanding of medicines and herbal remedies by studying with Naaza and Lili.As for Eina, she fell into the category of girls who were more focused on the children than other matters. She would continue her duties as the Guild Liaison, but it would be more of a formality in the future, with most of the matters of the Guild branch being handed over to Rose. Risna, her younger sister, simply wanted to become a prolific novelist in the future and, now that she had the Sub-Space orb to rely on, the efforts she had put into her writing had more than tripled. This left only Syr remaining, amongst the girls currently present in the Manor, and her only desire had been the same as it always had. She wanted to support the man she loved and, in order to make sure things ran smoothly, Syr took her position as the 'Manager' of the Manor's affairs very seriously...---Being the core of everything, Vahn's own power was one of the most important factors that would guarantee any problems that appeared in the future could be resolved without any sacrifices. At the same time that his 'main' body had been fighting against Siegfried, his Avatar had been within the orb using their shared connection to supplement Vahn's source energy reserves. By making use of the dime dilation effect, and the fact that his reserves could be replenished in around twenty minutes by meditating to the [Mantra of Eternity], Vahn's reserves during combat had been almost limitless. On average, it would have only taken him three minutes and twenty seconds to completely recover his reserves, a factor Vahn had exploited with the abundant overuse of his source energy.The largest benefit, which Vahn himself hadn't expected, was that he was able to use his perception of his second body to enhance that of his main body. Since he experienced the passage of time in both worlds simultaneously, Vahn had been able to observe the entire fight from the perspective of his Avatar in slow motion. During the first exchange, it felt like he had synchronized both of his minds and had actually been able to accelerate his own thinking by a factor of six times.With his already enhanced perception, it was almost like time had completely come to a stop during the moments his focus had reached the peak. This was also why, after large and complex movements, Vahn had stalled for a short while. His brain could only make sense of so many stimuli at once so, anything too complex would leave him exposed for a short while thereafter. Siegfried had been able to exploit these 'gaps' with an awe-inspiring degree of ease, something that had deeply impacted both of Vahn's minds. It was very fortunate for him that Siegfried had also been very cautious and observant during the fight, as it had made recovering his senses after taking big hits much easier. Had Siegfried gone all out, it would have taken Vahn a much longer period of time to actually come out ahead in the fight.Now that things had settled down, Vahn was reflecting on the fight itself while teaching Ina how to dance, a request the latter had after his return. She was currently standing on his feet while Vahn walked her through the basics of performing a ballroom waltz. The fact that she was wearing an adorable little princess outfit distracted both of Vahn's mind, though not enough that his body within the orb couldn't keep his focus. He had realized through this fight that his power simply wasn't enough for some of the enemies he might face in the future.With how Karma influenced Fate, it was almost guaranteed that troublesome enemies would eventually find their way to him. Thus, while the goddesses were discussing matters on their own, Vahn was also thinking about how to increase his own power. At the bare minimum, he needed to completely master his [Magia Erebea] form, as he had managed to push the skill to SSS-Rank within the Divination. If he could freely make use of his elemental armaments, it would be possible to deal with most situations. However, even more than that, Vahn realized he needed to focus on mastering his own Innate abilities.Had he not caught Siegfried by surprise with his Xuánwǔ form, the fight would have gone on for a much greater length of time. Just the fact that it was an Innate made it inarguably more powerful than [Magia Erebea] itself, with the only limit of the ability being Vahn's understanding of its true capabilities. It was the same for all of his Innates and, now that it was apparent there were more than a few entities within this record that could threaten him and his family, Vahn wanted to seriously begin working towards mastering these abilities. After all, this mastery would follow him through all future records and, as he been revealed by Sis, mastering them was necessary to increase his Soul Tier.Currently, Vahn had four Innates awakened meaning, if he was able to master them all, his Soul Tier would naturally be at Tier 4. He had already 'mastered' [Will of the Emperor], though he was still discovering its uses as his own perception of the world changed, so his next focus should be on his [Rakshasa Body]. Though his [Eyes of Truth] were very powerful, Vahn felt their utility wouldn't be nearly as useful as the combat prowess provided by his [Rakshasa Body], at least for now. As for his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], that was a difficult skill to master with his current understanding of things, as the cooldown of the ability made it hard to make use of.Vahn had already learned a fair amount about the ability, but it would generally take around thirty days, on the low end, just to use it once. Fortunately, his naming didn't seem 'entirely' dependent on this cooldown as, without a shadow of a doubt, the effects he was able to imbue into items through his intent were related to the ability. This meant he needed to create a bunch of items to increase his mastery quickly, something that would slow the development of his personal strength in the interim.Thus, by process of elimination, [Rakshasa Body] needed to become his priority until he was able to at least maintain his Zhūquè form without consuming a massive amount of source energy, or burning apart all of his equipment. If possible, Vahn also wanted to be able to awaken his Azure Dragon form, as it seemed very powerful, but he wasn't too sure if it was a good idea within this record. Each of the forms seemed to have an association with an elemental law, and a higher tiered law he didn't fully understand.The capabilities of the Azure Dragon seemed to be tied to Space and Lightning, but there was undoubtedly a greater potential hidden away in the form. With how Eva and Terra had reacted to his change, Vahn was certain this was the case. Still, having it as a trump card would undoubtedly be beneficial if he 'needed' to make use of it. If even the record itself was strained by the influence of that form, it wasn't likely many enemies would be able to last against it...Making his way towards the rest area where the girls usually took their breaks, Vahn found the person he was looking for, currently teasing Lili and playing with the latter's exposed stomach. Lili had a red face as she swatted away Tiona's hands, exclaiming, "Stop messing around, Tiona! If you end up harming my babies...I'll...!" Though Lili had been in the middle of lashing out at Tiona, she immediately stopped when she saw his arrival within the rest area. Seemingly without any regard for the fact she was supposed to be pregnant, Lili ran over and leaped into his arms.Because it hadn't been 'confirmed' previously, Lili had still been making use of the Sub-Space orb, at least for the time being. Very soon, she would have to stay in the real world because, as most of the girls were aware at this point, Lili was undoubtedly pregnant. Vahn, of course, had been the first to notice the change but had waited for Lili to make the announcement herself, as it was a very meaningful thing for most women. Even so, now that her state had been confirmed, Vahn stroked her chestnut brown hair and lightly reprimanded, "You're not supposed to be in here, Lili..."Seemingly disregarding his words, Lili just laughed lightly and continued to squeeze him tightly around the waist. She had been in a very bubbly and clingy mood as of late, not that Vahn could really blame her. Naaza was handling things much better, having already started learning from the more experienced women what she needed to prepare for during her pregnancy. Much like Aki, she had already started to 'transform' from a young woman into that of a mother, practically glowing whenever Vahn saw her. The fact that her tail would lightly wag whenever they crossed paths, as if she were very happy to see him, always filled Vahn with a blissful contentedness.Though he wouldn't mind spending time with Lili, Vahn had come here with a different purpose so he gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "You should return to the Manor and spend more time with Naaza. I have things to take care of right now, but I'll come find you after I'm finished playing with the younglings..." Lili looked as though she wanted to argue at first but, hearing the latter half of Vahn's words, a smile spread across her youthful face as she said, "I'll be waiting~!" and disappeared from the space. Vahn issued a light chuckle before looking toward Tiona, currently sitting amongst Tione, Ais, and Lefiya. Noticing the look in his eyes, Tiona's expression turned radiant as she pointed to herself and exclaimed, "You came here for me~? Ehehehehe~."Even without Vahn explaining his purpose, Tiona had bounded up to her feet and immediately transitioned into her [Pactio] form while Tione, Ais, and even Lefiya, gave her slightly envious looks. Vahn sent a wink towards them after being momentarily distracted by Tiona's sudden 'lack' of clothing. He would never get used to the fact that her [Pactio] was essentially just two thin pieces of cloth that barely even covered the sensitive bits. Though she pulled it off with her amazingly athletic figure, Vahn felt like he would have to 'punish' any men that observed Tiona while she was in this form...After stretching her body for a bit, Tiona smiled excitedly and said, "Let's do this~!" in a chipper voice. Immediately thereafter, however, her eyes become somewhat fierce and playful as she launched herself towards him, tackling him away from the building as their spar began. Ais, Tione, and Lefiya followed after them, curious to see how the fight would progress and moderately hopeful they would have their own turn after the fact. At the very least, they would be able to learn the reasons for why Vahn had suddenly shown up to fight Tiona, though seeing him immediately transition into his White Tiger form gave them some insight into the matter.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Beyond the peak, there are always greater heights to reach~!','If only Vahn had an Innate that made him think gud','Baihu vs. Queen of Beasts')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

With a shift in his focus, now split between spending time with his children and training seriously within the orb, time began to pass by very quickly, relatively speaking. Vahn found himself using the time he spent with Alexa to reflect upon things since he never seemed to have enough time between the real world and the orb for all the matters concerning him. His training was going very well and, as a result of their involvement with his desire to grow stronger, Vahn had been steadily getting closer with Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and Haruhime. They all helped out personally in his training and, at the same time, endeavored to increase their strength as well.As for what was at the forefront of Vahn's mind, and his chief concern at the moment, it was the fact that he was coming up on the weekend where he would have his first times with, not just Lefiya and Freya, but Eirene as well. Around the time Loki had been screening candidates for undergoing the procedure, Eirene had stepped forward, expressing her desire to have a child more earnestly than in the past. She didn't mind going after Freya, but seeing the Vanir had 'triggered' her, not just because they were all adorable, but because of how 'unique' they were. Eirene had found herself thinking about it a lot so, after learning that Freya was finally scheduled, she decided that her own wait had gone on long enough.This wouldn't have been much of a problem, if not for the fact that Vahn knew it would take more than a little effort to truly deal with Freya. Just imagining Eirene 'patiently' waiting in another room for him to finish made Vahn feel rather awkward, meaning it would have to take place on different days. Since Ryuu was due any day now, this increased the chances that she would go into labor while he was 'busy' so, after discussing it with her previously, Ryuu had agreed to have her labor induced on Friday, which happened to be the following day. With that significant event creeping up on him, Vahn felt that the current day had been going on for a very long time. Considering that he spent 100 hours in the Space-Time orb, six days within the Sub-Space orb, and the rest of the day within the real world, it was like he had been anticipating tomorrow for nearly two weeks of time...Tapping her tail against him, Alexa asked, "Papa, what are you thinking about~?" in a curious, yet lazy, tone. She had been changing drastically since the prior incident which, for Alexa, had now happened nearly a year ago, even though it had only been less than a week in the real world. From observing her, Vahn better understood why the girls had been so worried about him when he used Eva's orb in the past. Seeing how quickly Alexa had changed caused a sense of incongruity that was somewhat difficult to deal with, though it was made much easier by the fact that he had inherited the memories from his fragment.Lightly stroking Alexa's hair, Vahn answered, "Well, you'll have another little sister tomorrow so I'm feeling a little anxious..." Once again, Alexa's tail tapped against his, causing Vahn to produce a wry smile as he hugged her tightly and said, "Make sure you take care of your siblings properly, okay? Even if you might look younger than them in the future, you're still going to be their big sis..." By the time Alexa was going to be leaving the orb, she would have the appearance of a girl around 10-12 years old, assuming she came out after staying inside for around 100 years. It would take another 200-300 hundred years for her to reach physical maturity and, if she wanted to look like a proper adult, Alexa would have to tolerate the relative solitude of the Space-Time orb for more than six hundred years.Though her tail tapped against him a few times, showing her moderate frustration, Alexa eventually nodded her head and said, "I'm not sure about my other siblings, but I will make sure to protect Ina, Vana, and Erika...they have been good friends to me and I hope to get closer with them after I leave this place..." Since it wasn't safe for the infant children to enter into the Space-Time orb, Alexa had never met her other siblings so it was understandable she didn't feel any real affection for them. Still, Vahn wanted Alexa to be the reliable big sister of the group, especially since she would have accumulated the greatest amount of knowledge and experience amongst them.Suddenly, much to Alexa's annoyance, another figure swooped down into the area where she and her Papa were relaxing. Even before it said anything, Alexa sat up with a small frown on her face and asked, "What are you doing here, Fafnir!?" She had already been a little upset by the fact that her Papa's mind was focused on other things lately so, having someone else show up to interrupt her time with him caused Alexa to reach the limits of her tolerance. For the first time, Vahn got to see his little Dragon 'Princess' lose her cool, as the latter lashed out at the other small figure that crouched down and allowed her to hit its head.Approaching from behind, Vahn picked up the huffing Alexa and held her in his arms, patting her back to calm her down as he asked, "What can I do for you today, Fafnir...?" The small figure before him raised its face, showing a teary-eyed expression as it said, "Alexa, you shouldn't be so violent all the time...Master won't pamper you if you become spoiled..." Hearing this, the pupils of Alexa's leaf-green eyes became slits as she sent a glare towards Fafnir before hanging her head low as she reflected upon its words. As for Vahn, he just continued to lightly pat Alexa's back while observing the small figure before him.After spending more than a decade within the orb, both Khaos and Fafnir had been able to master their transformation abilities to the point where they could now assume a human form. Khaos had taken on a form very similar to Vahn's own, except he looked slightly older and more stern. The fact that he had crimson hair, amethyst eyes, and an assortment of black and red scales, also set them apart. Also, must like Terra and Alexa, who they had likely based their forms off of, Khaos and Fafnir also had wings, horns, and tails while in their humanoid forms. Seeing Khaos had actually inspired Vahn to think about his own dragon transformation but, considering how Terra had reacted the last time he 'almost' transformed, Vahn didn't think it was a good idea to just assume that form for fun.Similar to Khaos, while also being decidedly different, Fafnir had also assumed a form that closely resembled Vahn's own, except much younger. It was obvious that they had both imprinted on him and, as a result of the recognition they had for him as the Alpha, they strived to emulate him. As for Fafnir, it had a very childish mentality in the past and, as a result of being treated like a younger brother for so long, it had taken on an appearance to match. Currently, Fafnir looked even younger than Alexa, possessing onyx-black hair, stark blue eyes, and sleek black wings with nubs for its horns and tail. Unlike Terra and Alexa, Fafnir and Khaos both had scaled and angular wings, a stark contrast to the feathery wings of the two 'female' True Dragons.Seeing that Alexa wasn't going to respond, Fanfir released a sigh before turning towards its Master and saying, "Master, I want to return to the real world today. Please take me with you before you leave~!" Though it still wasn't confident that its power was adequate, Fafnir felt that it wouldn't necessarily grow stronger just staying inside this orb all the time. Terra taught it a lot but not nearly as much as it would have liked, not that Fafnir truly blamed her. Since most of its training would be dependent on the knowledge it required, and Terra wasn't currently sharing much with it, Fafnir wanted to return to the real world so that it could study seriously. It had tried to get Alexa to help it study but, after assuming her female form for a long period of time, she had started to become somewhat violent towards it and Khaos.Vahn nodded his head, reaching his hand out to stroke Fafnir's head as he said, "Sure, just wait for me at the cottage when the times comes. Let Khaos know he can come along as well, since I imagine he has a similar mentality..." Fafnir nodded its head while enjoying the comfortable sensation coming from it's Master's palm. When the warm feeling vanished, it gave one last smile before taking to the skies at supersonic speeds to go retrieve Khaos. Like Master, Fafnir knew that Khaos would likely want to leave this place as well, it's just that the latter would never admit to it. Khaos had a strange form of pride and refused to show any form of weakness, even though he was a big softie with a few insecurities that had rooted themselves inside his heart and mind.Alexa, understanding that Khaos and Fafnir would be leaving the orb, was actually in a much better mood now. In truth, she didn't get along with them that well because, as a result of her immaturity, her instincts made her 'hate' male True Dragons. Because she recognized her Papa as the strongest, Alexa had started to see Khaos and Fafnir as 'weak' and 'insignificant' existences, even though she also tried to rationalize that they were her friends. More importantly, they were close existences to her Papa, making Alexa put in an effort to 'try' and get closer to them, even though it seemed to have the opposite result. Fafnir had even stayed genderless out of consideration for her, though Khaos' pride had made it wholeheartedly accept its role as a male. He might not be able to become the Alpha, but Khaos was determined to at least become the strongest beneath Vahn, all so that he could become the most reliable mount for his Master...Seeing Alexa's wings 'flitter' happily, Vahn released a light sigh that caused her to tense up when she heard it. With an ashamed expression, Alexa looked up and said, "I'm sorry, Papa...I just...can't help it..." Vahn nodded his head, hugging Alexa tightly in a firm embrace as he said, "Just never give up trying, Alexa...that is all I ask. You are a very smart and wise young True Dragon, and I'm certain you will possess those same traits when you get older. If it gets difficult, remember that you can always rely on me to help out..." This time, Alexa's tail drooped and moved from side-to-side lazily while she returned his embrace with her own small arms.As the encounter with Siegfried was still fresh on his mind, Vahn was very aware that Alexa's current behavior was one of the things the Dragon Knight had been concerned about. True Dragons were heavily influenced by their instincts and, as Alexa continued to mature, they were beginning to shape the way she interacted with others. The Vanir seemed to be 'immune' to this, but Alexa's feelings towards others had started to become cold and distant. She was still very smart and, as he had often experienced himself, very wise, but Vahn began to realize that the lack of life experience was starting to distort Alexa's mind. It was to the point that he had considered trying to subordinate her, just so her interactions with the others would continue to regress further...Of course, it was only something he considered very briefly before completely setting the thought aside. Alexa, though he knew she might come to resent him for it with time, was irrefutably his daughter. Vahn wouldn't give up until he had found a solution for her, even if it meant accelerating her growth so that she could leave the orb sooner. If she interacted with others more often, Vahn believed that Alexa's mind would develop in a healthy manner. It was obvious that she didn't truly feel close to the two memory fragments and, as her only 'real' interactions were with the people that visited her every few months, it was understandable that she would have developed in a strange direction.With Fafnir and Khaos leaving the orb, Vahn believed that Alexa would begin to 'normalize' again, giving him a bit of time to come up with a solution in the future, if necessary. There should be methods to limit the influence of a person's instincts, or at least help them cope and behave normally around others. Though this was 'wrong', in a way, Vahn would leave the decision to Alexa herself, as her inability to get along with the others would cause problems for her in the future. At the very least, Vahn figured he could make an item that subtly changed how she perceived others, making them less 'bothersome' to be around without directly inhibiting her natural instincts. If she used the item for a long period of time, while interacting alongside the others in the Manor, Vahn was confident Alexa would be able to mature in a manner that she didn't cause unnecessary conflict...Unaware of what her Papa was thinking, Alexa raised her head with a small smile, asking, "Papa, what are you thinking about now~?" Vahn, returning her smile, honestly answered, "I was thinking about your happiness, Alexa. Because it was my fault you are burdened with so many things outside your own control, I will do my best to make sure you can be happy in the future..." Hearing this, Alexa blinked her large eyes several times, showing curiosity and confusion at the same time.Part of her was saying that she had erred somehow, worrying her Papa unnecessarily, so Alexa planned to reflect on everything that happened once he left. This is what she used to do before Khaos and Fafnir had 'invaded' her space so, now that they were leaving, Alexa felt it would be a good habit to fall back into. She remembered that her Papa seemed happier in the past, before she had assumed this form, and wondered if it wasn't a bad idea to just go back to how things were. That, however, could wait until later as, for the time being, Alexa just wanted to enjoy the time she had with her Papa before he had to leave once again. Since she could tell he was focused on her right now, she was much happier than she had been a few minutes ago...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Truck-kun reincarnated into Life-sama. Now it can't stop hitting Vahn over and over, like the truck it had been in its previous incarnation (UwU)...','Teenie-Tiny Fafnir, Tsundere Khaos...','Alexa, Spoiled Dragon Princess (o,...,o)~!')(A/N: I miss the wise and calm Alex-san from the past...Also, let me know in the comments section if you'd rather have more details about Ryuu and her daughter, or if you'd like it summarized for other plot developments. I'll be writing them tomorrow since I want to release a bunch of Fenrir's Journey today xD...)https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Seeing Siegfried fall from the sky, Vahn released a sigh of relief while slowly descending after him. In retrospect, Vahn realized that his attack was a little petty, as it hadn't been necessary to separate Siegfried's body into two halves. Yet, in much the same way as the Dragon Knight had done, Vahn felt he wouldn't be killed by such a blow. Even now, Vahn could sense a powerful vitality coming from the man's body and, though there was a fair amount of blood, it looked like the wound was trying to close up to preserve his life. After all, even on the low end, Siegfried must have had more than ten-thousand Endurance, with vitality and regeneration to match.Because of their battle, there was now a sink-hole like pit where the forest used to exist and, as nobody had dealt with the fire just yet, the forest in a much larger area had started to burn with a fierce blaze. Vahn wanted to do something about it but, for the time being, he still needed to deal with Siegfried to avoid any future problems. The man seemed trustworthy and, as he had already given his word, Vahn didn't want to breed any resentment amongst Siegfried's comrades by taking his life.Just after he landed, however, a rather diminutive figure appeared in front of him in an instant, giving Vahn the feeling as though she was immovable with her kite shield raised. In a firm tone, with a resolute expression on her face, Jeanne angled her sword against the top of her shield and said, "Forgive me, Vahn, but I cannot allow you to take his life. We may have wronged you, but Siegfried isn't a bad person...please, stand down this time...you've already won." At the same time that Jeanne was buying time, Hera had appeared at Siegfried's side and pulled out an Elixir with a gold hue to it. She began to slowly pour it on his wound and, as if time itself had been reversed, Siegfried's body began to regrow the missing half.Seeing Hera 'waste' such a powerful potion, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "You seem to have a powerful Alchemist and Artificer on your side...hmm." Vahn was currently in his lightning armament form so, even though his actions were somewhat casual, Jeanne didn't drop her guard for a moment. Then, staring straight into her pale blue eyes, Vahn said, "I didn't see you step in when Siegfried had literally torn my body into more than a hundred fragments. Is this what you consider justice, Jeanne, bully people with power and, if they somehow manage to 'survive', you ask them to take the high road and forgive you...?"Even without the ability to see aura's, Vahn saw a deeply rooted regret within Jeanne's apologetic eyes. The fact that her stance hadn't waved in the slightest, however, told Vahn that she wasn't the type that would let her uncertainty dictate her actions. He was, honestly, a little impressed with her strong sense of duty, even if the people she held loyalty towards seemed to be a group of bullies. In more than one way, she reminded him of Mikoto and, in even more ways, Riveria...her sense of duty seemed to dictate her actions and, even if her heart didn't believe what she was doing to be correct, Jeanne still stood unwaveringly to block his path.Still, though he was impressed, Vahn didn't like the fact that she was trying to make it out that he was in the wrong, even if was because of her loyalty towards Hera. If he had truly wanted to kill Siegfried, he wouldn't have aimed for the stomach and instead targeted the heart or head. There also wouldn't have been any reason to slowly descend from the sky as, in his current form, Vahn could reach nearly 260,000km/h, on the low end. If he didn't try to 'aim' himself, it was possible to reach 357,274km/h, though he would probably destroy his own body upon arrival at his location.Shaking his head, Vahn looked into Jeanne's eyes and said, "Using words to make someone else out to be in the wrong doesn't mean it is the truth of the matter...haaaa-" After releasing a sigh, Vahn completely bypassed Jeanne's position and stepped next to Hera and the still unconscious Siegfried. He noticed that in the split second he had passed by her, Jeanne's sword had found its way into his thigh, cutting the tendon for a short moment before he regenerated once again.Though awed by her sword skills, Vahn ignored that for the time being as his aura radiated out from his body as he addressed Hera, "Let this be a lesson to you, Hera...the next time you intend to have machinations towards me, or my family, be prepared for the consequences. If not for Siegfried's character, I would have struck him down permanently..." Hera, already releasing her divine power to counteract the pressure squeezing on her body, gave a wry smile as she said, "It wa-" Before she could even complete the second word, Vahn had already turned his back and vanished from the surroundings, far outside her perception.Jeanne came to Hera's side in the next instance, holding up her shield in a defensive posture while observing the surroundings. Her ability informed her that Vahn was still nearby and, after seeing how easily he passed by her, Jeanne was certain he could exploit any gaps in her awareness. It seemed that, other than the terrifyingly powerful True Dragon guarding the Hearth Manor, Vahn was also in a league of his own. He was still young and inexperienced yet, as a result of his determination and seemingly endless unique abilities, Vahn had managed to defeat an enemy far stronger than himself. The truly horrific thing was that speed of his as, even Heroes who prided themselves on speed, likely wouldn't be a match for Vahn...At this point, Sigfried's body had resumed its human appearance and, except for a pale complexion, he looked perfectly fine. The potion Hera had used sapped a bit of his vitality, shortening his lifespan, but Siegfried still had a few hundred years of life left in him. For now, he just lay on his back, completely naked, while Hera contemplated what to do about Vahn in the future. When her eyes turned back to Siegfried's body, she frowned slightly seeing his naked figure. Earning a confused look from Jeanne, Hera snorted lightly before noticing her young protege's gaze.Regaining her seemingly kind and gentle disposition, Hera smiled to Jeanne and said, "I'm afraid I'll have to entrust you with Siegfried's current situation. Please, run along and purchase some clothes for him, Jeanne. It will make our return trip rather awkward otherwise..." Hearing this, Jeanne looked down at Siegfried's body and, without a single change in her expression, nodded her head before asking, "Will you be safe here...?" Her duty this time around had been to protect Hera, thus, leaving her here in this massive pit, wasn't exactly the best idea in her opinion. If Vahn had any second thought about the situation, it wasn't impossible for him to come and claim the lives of both Hera and Siegfried while she was away...Hera laughed in a light tone, calmly stating, "I'm sure you've noticed it as well, Jeanne, but that boy seems to look for reasons to spare people. He won't come and pick off someone that can't defend themselves and, though he is understandably upset with me, I trust that he won't act on those impulses. After all, he even returned Siegfried's weapon to him...not that I can say much about the condition it's in..." As she was speaking, Hera inclined her head to the half melted sword that had been embedded into the ground when Vahn 'blinked' forward earlier.He might not have been aware of it himself, but he had allowed the source-infused lightning to destroy the interior elements of the sword and cause it to break down while holding it previously. It was almost as if he had been 'compelled' to destroy the thing that had caused him so much pain and frustration, even though it hadn't been his intention to do so at all. If not for the fact that one of the Heroes of Legend was a capable blacksmith, Siegfried would be without his treasured sword in the future. As it was something he had carried for nearly five hundred years, the loss of his sword would have been even more impactful than the loss of his lower body, at least to someone like Siegfried.Without waiting around any longer, Jeanne gave a small nod, returning her kite shield to her back so that she would be able to fly. She hadn't been blessed with the capability of flight herself so Jeanne, like many of the residents of the City of Heroes, needed to rely on her equipment in order to achieve the feat. Her's was a functionality provided by the kite shield she carried with her and, as a quirk of its design, she needed to have it on her back in order to activate it. This was because the person who had designed it had a tendency to make equipment as 'sets', each piece serving a specific function. The downside was, many of these functions only worked under specific circumstances, often annoying the users of said items to no end...After watching Jeanne's departure, Hera didn't even spare a second glance to Siegfried and instead looked towards the empty bottle in her hands. It wasn't easy to produce such a high-quality Elixir, with both the ingredients and the production process both being very difficult. If not for Paracelsus' unrivaled skills as an [Alchemist], in conjunction with his rare skills, they wouldn't even be able to produce such a thing in the mortal world. Having wasted a precious Elixir on a task that shouldn't have been this troublesome left a sour taste in Hera's mouth. Then, seeing Siegfried's naked body out of the corner of her eye, Hera's expression turned into a grimace and she tossed the expensive glass container onto the ground and stormed off to sit in a place that didn't 'smell like burning'.---While Jeanne was off running her errand, and Hera was busy throwing a small hissy fit, Vahn was moving through the burning forest at a slow and steady pace. Instead of his lightning armament, Vahn had assumed a new [Magia Erebea], using a water-elemental [Sagitta Magicka] to fuel it. In order to make his work even easier, Vahn transformed into his Xuánwǔ form and was currently manipulating a dome of water nearly 100m in diameter as he 'rolled' it across the burning forest below. Moving such a mass of water took a fair amount of effort but, as long as he kept his focus, there wasn't any real danger of his control slipping at present.It took a few hours, but Vahn managed to put out the fire, preventing even more devastation to the environment. He realized that his battles against powerful foes always left the surrounding area as a 'victim', something that made Vahn feel a little regretful since it was unfair to the animals residing within the forest to have their homes robbed from them. There were undoubtedly numerous deaths as well, which made Vahn feel solemn as he brought his hands together and prayed for their safe passage into the next life.Though monsters didn't possess a soul, as they were simply mana constructs, Vahn knew this wasn't the case for normal animals. Even something as small as a termite had the most fragmentary semblance of a soul and, after several incarnations, it might even become a kind saint that brings salvation to a record. Vahn's understanding of the soul itself was still very shallow, though it was still much greater than most people, so he couldn't be sure how the mechanics behind reincarnation worked. The one thing he did know was that ignoring the loss of life that had been arbitrarily taken as a result of his fight...was simply heartless...By the time he was finished, Hera, Jeanne, and Siegfried had long left the area, disappearing towards the west without making any attempt to initiate further conversation with him. Vahn had allowed them to go without pestering them, but not without giving himself some form of insurance. When he had struck the spot on Siegfried's back the second time, Vahn had placed a ward inside of the Dragon Knight's body. It was functionally harmless and, as a result of being comprised of a form of energy that Siegfried was fundamentally incapable of sensing, the ward had gone unnoticed.Vahn intended to use to track the location of their base in the future as, even without knowing the details, it was very obvious they were some kind of organization. Them knowing where he lived, without revealing their own location, was something Vahn couldn't tolerate. In order to even the playing field, he wanted to know the location of their base of operations so, the next time they tried anything against him and his family, he would know exactly where to go to seek vengeance. He was tired of old organizations, groups, or individuals, who had been consolidating their power and doing whatever they wanted without regards for the consequences. If he needed to, Vahn would 'become' the consequence of their actions...something few people in this record were capable of bearing...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Jeanne is a tragic existence...','Hera's true colors begin to show...?','Loki's training is showing itself ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 731: Vantage