Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Unaware of the restructuring of power that was going on throughout the City, not just within the Freya Familia, Vahn had returned to his daily lifestyle. Eirene now came around the Manor far more often, generally just to chat with the other goddesses and interact with the Vanir, while Demeter would sometimes come along with her. She was another goddess Vahn had to take into consideration for the future, though that matter could be delayed for a while, as she was currently more focused on some of the developments in the Plains Region to the west. Thus, with that matter set aside for the future, the only things Vahn really had to worry about was Riveria's impending delivery, which shouldn't be far from the opening of the School.Both of these events were very 'major', so Vahn had been working to smooth things over while also following up with Rufina, who had actually been a little annoyed he hadn't stopped by sooner. It had been nearly eight months since he had left her at the Ganesha Familia, only stopping by twice since then, both times within the first week after he had left her there. Her Affection, which had been hovering in the mid-eighties, had dropped all the way down to 49, even though she strangely still had the (Trust) bracket parameter.This had been the result of Shakti often explaining to her the things that were occurring in the Alliance, with the majority of her news centering around Vahn and the matters within the Hearth Manor. Rufina couldn't truly blame him for wanting to spend time with his newborn children and, considering her situation would inconvenience anyone, she had tried just focusing on her new life without worrying about what Vahn was up to. Her impression of him was that he was an honest boy so she knew, one day, he would eventually come around and make good on her promise.As she had expected, though much later than she would have liked, Vahn did eventually show up, carrying with him several different files. Each contained a woman that loosely resemble Rufina in appearance, all possessing similarly red hair and having disappeared in the Dungeon. The unfortunate thing was, none of them had been reputed for having any rare skills, especially ones related to taming. Also, the strongest among them was only Level 3 and, though Rufina might have become stronger while under Enyo's influence, the woman in the file would have made her a great deal older than she appeared. Thus, though the investigation had gone on for a full eight months, there hadn't been any major breakthroughs in discovering Rufina's original identity.Vahn did, however, impart unto her one of the pieces of information Loki had told him, being that Rufina's disappearance may have been covered up. During the investigation, which had included going through the records maintained by the Guild, and several infamous information brokers, Loki noticed there were a few Adventurers who had gone missing that weren't documented by the Guild, even though they had been properly registered.Though it could just be a clerical error, the number was far too great to be a simple coincidence, especially since every member had belonged to a Familia that had disbanded, with their gods no longer being present to give a proper accounting. This meant that their disappearance had been effectively erased and it had taken Loki a great deal of effort just to send and receive messages from Heaven, trying to verify if her instincts proved accurate. In more than half the cases, she had been able to discover that several Adventurers, generally around Level 3-4, had simply been 'removed' from the Guilds records, dating back nearly a thousand years...When she had heard this, Rufina had very decisively stated, "You should stop trying to investigate my past. I have a bad feeling about this and I've learned to always trust my instincts...I've already started building a new life here, none of that matters anymore. Besides, I wouldn't even know how to deal with people I don't even remember...it would be too awkward..." However, though she had said this, Vahn could clearly see that Rufina wanted to know, even if her fears were also just as visible. There were few people who would simply be okay with not knowing who they were, especially if they might have had some important family members who had been worrying about them. Yes, it would probably be awkward, but that was just how life was at times...Instead of agreeing to drop the matter, Vahn became even more determined to find the truth, smiling to Rufina as he said, "Sorry, Rufina, but I can be pretty obstinate at times. I made you a promise and, even if it ends up leading me into a sticky situation, I'm confident enough to walk out of it just fine. I might not look like it, but I'm pretty strong...after all, I even managed to defeat you, right~?" At the same time that Rufina's Affection jumped back up to 61, her fist also came flying towards his face with a great deal of force behind it. Vahn, transitioning into his Xuánwǔ form in an instant, just caught her fist in his palm, completely negating the attack and 'storing' it in the scales on his forearm.As he had been seriously training his [Rakshasa Body] again, Vahn had slowly been learning some of the secrets he had overlooked in the past, the ability to store kinetic energy being one of them. Though there was a limit to how much he could hold, which constantly drained his energy to keep contained, Vahn found that this particular ability was exceptionally suited for physical fighters. It had become the bane of Tiona's existence, giving Vahn a slight edge of her, even though things usually ended up with him being pummeled, regardless of his efforts.Rufina's eyes widened in shock, both as a result of watching Vahn transform and seeing how easily he dealt with her attack. She had been very annoyed by his words and hadn't held anything back, assuming he would dodge, not take on the attack directly. For a brief moment, when he smiled at her, Rufina felt her heart pulse with a giddy feeling sensation spreading through her stomach. She jerked her fist free of his hand, snorting as she said, "Do whatever the fuck you want. It's not like I can do shit when you leave this place again..." Without another word, Rufina stormed off in a huff, refusing to look back as Vahn watched her with a mild incredulity on his face.Shaking his head, Vahn turned his attention to the other person that had been sitting in on their conversation, Shakti. As the Captain of the Ganesha Familia, she had been given permission to hear about all the details relating to the investigation of Rufina's background. Over the last eight months, she had actually grown very fond of the free-spirited, though admittedly brash, redhead. Since anyone with amnesia had a reason to be high-strung, Shakti had always been very patient with Rufina and, after witnessing the monstrous talent the latter had, it was her hope to one day groom her into the next Captain of the Familia.Producing a wry smile of her own, Shakti rose to her feet and bowed politely before saying, "She means well, that woman...don't let her barbed tongue get to you. And, though she didn't say it, I'm sure she is grateful for everything you're doing, Vahn. The only thing I think would make her happier is if you stopped by more often...after all, she isn't that good at making friends, though a few of us have been able to tolerate her long enough to at least be considered close acquaintances..." Shakti nearly laughed at her own words but managed to cover it up by coughing into her hand.Vahn, however, didn't mind laughing and did so willingly, causing Shaki to frown slightly as the image of a loud-mouthed elephant appeared in her head. Bowing one last time, Shakti said, "If you'll excuse me, I should be going. I need to make sure Rufina didn't run off and start smashing a poor inanimate object out of frustration..." There were more than a few target dummies, stones, and even metal poles that had become victims of Rufina's wrath. Her physical strength was the only thing more monstrous than her talent with taming, making her the one woman that even the bold and unrestrained men in her Familia couldn't easily approach...excluding herself, which her annoying god kept harping over...Understanding that his welcome had run out, Vahn rose to his feet and return a polite bow to Shakti before saying, "I look forward to the exhibition..." Shakti nodded her head in response, saying, "Yes, I'm certain it will be quite the sight. It does annoy me a little, however, knowing that you'll be stealing the spotlight once again...try not to go overboard, Vahn Mason." With her words finished, Shakti made her way out of the room while Vahn rubbed the back of his head. Truthfully, stealing the show from the Ganesha Familia wasn't really his intention, it simply...couldn't be helped?In order to increase the popularity of the School, Vahn had arranged things with Ganesha to do a public display of some of the things they would be teaching, especially magic. They would also have members of the Terpsichore Familia doing performances, mainly focused on music and dance, while the girls would be demonstrating sports like Volleyball and Soccer, two things Vahn expected to be a big hit with the crowds. His memory fragment had been working on uniforms for them to wear, which would be both easy on the eyes, but also enough to protect the girls' dignity. Vahn wasn't really comfortable with other men eyeing the girls but, as they were all fine with putting on the performance, he wasn't going to make a big deal out of it...as long as nobody in the stands took things too far.While making his way back to the Manor, using the direct route by going through the sky, Vahn decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to stop by Maria's Orphanage. Many of the children there had wanted to attend the School and, as he had been very busy, it had been nearly eight months since he last visited. Realizing this, Vahn felt a little sick to his stomach and quickly made his way over without minding the stares and pointing from pedestrians below. It was already known that he could fly through the sky, one of the many things he was famous for, so Vahn didn't bother with trying to keep it concealed. If anything, it would make the popularity of the School skyrocket, especially since only graduates would even have the chance to learn skills like [Shundo] by attending the Academy.After a short flight, Vahn dropped down in front of the Orphanage, startling two children who had been playing with one of the rubber balls he had left them in the past. Though momentarily spooked by his sudden appearance, the two had vibrant smiles on their faces once they realized who had dropped in on them. Without showing any restraint, the two young boys ran over, almost as if they were trying to tackle him to the ground, shouting, "Vahn! It's been so long since you last came by! Everyone, Vahn's back! Heeeeeeeeey~!" Moments later, Vahn found himself hounded by a group of more than twenty children, aging between four and nine years old. The only ten-year-old among them, while also being the eldest, was Rye, standing at the back with his arms crossed and a face full of accusation.Vahn, after pacifying the horde of children with sweets, made his way over to the young boy, showing an apologetic expression as he said, "Sorry for now stopping by. How had everyone been, Rye...?" As he was already aware, based on Rye's body language and the color of his aura, the boy hadn't actually been angry. The moment Vahn apologized, he gave a curt nod before smiling vibrantly and saying, "Everyone has been great! Some people even got lucky enough to get adopted, though most of us still wanted to stick around to attend your School. Isn't it supposed to be opening very soon!? I can't wait to learn how to be an awesome swordsman!"Nodding his head, Vahn smiled, explaining, "Yes, it'll be opening right after the end of the Spring Harvest and the next Monster Feria. I'll talk to Maria about getting all of you tickets, after all, you were a big help last time around." Hearing this, not only Rye, but all the children present began to get very riled up, screaming and squealing happily as they made their way into the interior of the Orphanage. Along the way, though he could sense them, Vahn still turned to Rye and asked, "So, where are Fina and Roux? I don't see them anywhere..."Rye began rubbing his index finger under his nose, smiling in an awkward manner as he said, "Well, that...you shouldn't really ask...yeah." Vahn blinked, slightly surprised by Rye's words and, as the boy had suggested, he decided not to pry any further. He could easily come up with a few different ideas that were likely very close to the truth, many of which weren't really appropriate to talk about. Since he could sense that both girls were safe, even if they were off in one of the side rooms for privacy, Vahn decided to just focus on the children around him. After all, they would eventually show up and, being the sensible Papa he had become, Vahn knew it was important for young girls to have privacy.Unsurprisingly, the two concerned parties showed up a few minutes into one of the stories he had been telling. Vahn had to halt mid-sentence as a cream-colored projectile shot towards his chest, shouting, "Vaaaaaahn~!" before nuzzling against him happily. This was none other than Finna, tail wagging happily while she 'discreetly' tried to sneak a few deep breaths of his aroma. Vahn knew the young Chienthrope had a crush on him and, as his [Grooming] would only exacerbate the situation, he just gave her a normal head pat as she happily giggled under his touch.With decidedly less motivation, Roux also walked over, appearing just as quiet and reserved as normal. One 'massive' change, however, was the fact that, though it wasn't exactly girly, Roux wasn't wearing baggy boy's clothing. Instead, she had on a pair of shorts that had a skirt attachment and, similar to Fina, whom she had likely borrowed the clothes from, Roux was wearing a white sleeveless tunic. It was a bit worn, having a few visible stains, but it was very apparent that Roux had tried to dress up a bit, presumably as a result of his arrival. Vahn didn't miss the few strands of pink that were spreading through her aura, clear evidence that she had also developed a bit of a crush on him.Feeling Rye pinch his side, while Fina gave him a look that said, 'say something nice', Vahn smiled to Roux and said, "You look very cute today, Roux. That kind of clothing suits you very well..." Hearing this, Roux tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, clearly unaccustomed with wearing such clothing as she began to blush a deep red. For several seconds, the entire room became silent, the tension thick enough that it could be cut with a knife. Eventually, however, Roux raised her large eyes, uttering, "Thank you..." in a quiet voice...before running away. Fina hopped up out of his lap immediately after, chasing after the retreating Roux while shouting, "Ah, Roux, now is the moment to strike! Don't run away~!"From the side, Maria watched this entire scene play out, chuckling lightly to herself before returning to the kitchen to prepare lunch. She wasn't even remotely surprised when a stack of fresh ingredients was already waiting for her arrival when she got there...(A/N: 21,622/30,000...my brain is melting xD...oh, and I'm going to straight up clarify that Fina and Roux aren't harem candidates. Vahn's got more than a few things to resolve in this world, ain't nobody got time fo dat~! Also, I've personally been noticing a lot of typos in my writing this time around and, while I'm trying to catch them all, know that I'm very tired right now xD...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tsufina goes doki-doki~?','Deeper Mysteries...','Vahn is good at coaxing young girls...NANI!?')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Blazing through a brilliantly lit sunless sky, four figures moved at velocities far exceeding the speed of sound while one, decidedly slower than the rest, held a large tulip-shaped staff in her hands. Raise it high into the sky, the young fairy holding the staff shouted in a high pitched voice, full of vitality and excitement, "Gather, 29 spirits of light! Magic Arrows, Series of 29 Light Arrows~!" The moment the chant finished, without forming a magic circle, a ring of 29 spheres of light began to slowly spin behind the lively young fairy before she pushed forward with her left hand, almost as if she were grabbing the void, and sent them forward with an even greater velocity than the four flying figures.Being the closest 'figure', Vahn came to a stop in the air as seven of the bolts created a laser-like line directly towards him. With a smile on his face, Vahn began to use [Koku Shundo], creating footholds in the air as he made small movements within a 3m radius. Each of the beams of light passed through his body, almost like it were an illusion, before immediately careening towards the second target, Tiona. When she saw this, Tiona, wearing her magical girl outfit overlaying her [Pactio] raiment, shouted, "Ah! Vahn, that's sneaky, ahahahahahahaha~!"Obviously undeterred by the now fifteen bolts flying towards her, Tiona released a burst of loud laughter as she nimbly twisted her body in an athletic display, showcasing her incredible flexibility and spatial awareness by dodging 'almost' all of the attacks. One passed right by her face, causing the brown-skinned beauty to sweat a bit as the fringe bang framing the left side of her face was incinerated. Fortunately, as a quirk of her Regina Animalium, the strands started growing back at a visible rate while the rest of her hair transitioned to have a metallic sheen.The next target, now facing twenty of the bolts, was Fenrir who, much like Tiona, simply dodged the magic arrows at a minimum distance. Unlike Tiona, however, Fenrir had easily evaded all of them, not even singing a single hair of her now sleek midnight blue fur. She was getting progressively closer to completing her humanoid transformation, now having ears around the size of a Cat Person and a small tail that jutted outwards slightly, curling upwards because of how short it was. As for the fur covering her paws, it was now thin and sleek whereas, the paws themselves, now formed into fully developed hands and feet. There were still adorable little paw pads on her fingers, palms, toes, and soles, but Vahn knew Fenrir was keeping them there intentionally.Having been easily evaded by Fenrir, the last person to face the barrage was also the fastest, Ais. She had [Ariel] surrounding her body and both of her wings of light poking out of her lower back. When the twenty-nine arrows came towards her, instead of dodging, Ais' eyes shone with a competitive glimmer as she brandished her sword. With a flurry of precise strikes, Ais cut apart each attack while flying backward, and dodging at the last moment. However, she didn't make an effort to break free from the arrows' homing effects and seemed determined to cut them all down.Tiona, having come to his side, whistled in an impressed manner before saying, "Man, Ais is getting way too good at flying. I wish I had her control over wind..." Vahn released a light-hearted laugh, poking Tiona in her exposed side as he said, "And I'm certain she'd like to have your nearly indestructible body and ability to evolve..." Tiona, giggling from the unexpected poke, brought both of her hands up like she was going to attack him before an explosion resounded through the air.Ais had managed to cut down twenty-three of the twenty-nine arrows but, as their speed was comparable to her own, one managed to slip through her attacks and impact the arm she used to hold [Gram]. Following the first impact, the remaining five arrows smashed into her body, causing a magical explosion that sent a ripple through space. However, as scary at the explosion had seemed, nobody present panicked and, as expected, Ais emerged almost completely unscathed moments later. Her [Aeriel] acted as both an offensive and defensive magic, imbuing her attacks with spiritual wind that could cut through almost anything, while simultaneously protecting her from harm.Even so, the first hit had caused a burn on her arm so Vahn had immediately stepped over and began healing her while Ais hung her head slightly, pouting. When he was finished, Vahn brought both of his hands to Ais' face, pressing his index fingers to the sides of her mouth and giving her an artificial smile. Though showing a guilty expression at first, it quickly faded away as Ais began to smile for real. Seeing this, Vahn nodded, patting her head while saying, "It's better when you smile. Don't be upset when you fail, Ais. It is failure that gives us a reason to move forward. Next time, even if you fail, fail better..."An unconstrained laugh sounded out behind him, where Vahn had already noted Tiona had been. She clung to his body, hugging his neck from behind, asking, "What kind of advice is that, Vahn~? Fail better? Ahahahahaha~." Vahn joined her in laughing before all three of them adopted somewhat serious expressions and began dodging again. Lefiya had started her next attack and, though she had a gentle smile on her face, there was a 'scary' aura radiating from her body. Tiona, seemingly unaware of this, continued to laugh as she dodged the numerous arrows targetting him, now consisting of 80% of the total.Free from his own arrows, Vahn vanished from the sky before appearing next to Lefiya, poking her in the cheek when she turned to face him. Vahn knew why she was upset as, after trying to sneakily convince Ais to spend the night with them, Tiona had managed to hear her since she had enhanced hearing at the time. After trying to join in on the fun, Lefiya, somewhat surprisingly, ended up lashing out at Tiona for butting in.It wasn't until Ais convinced her that it would be okay that Lefiya took a step back, though she still didn't agree to have other people participate. As for the reason...it wasn't that Lefiya actually minded Tiona and Tione coming along, but she had wanted to do something with Ais in front of Vahn. After the first time they all 'played' together, Lefiya knew it would be difficult to get away with what she had in mind so, for the time being, she was 'very' adamant about it just being the three of them.This wasn't the full reason why she was upset though, which was actually related to him, even though Lefiya seemed to shift the blame onto Tiona. The latter had come to him, asking if it would be okay if they all spent the night together and, not thinking there was anything wrong with it, Vahn had agreed. Now, Lefiya didn't want to be the one person in the group to object and, though she had originally wanted it to just be the three of them, it had quickly turned into the 'six' of them. At the time Tiona had brought it up, he had been training with Lili and, never shying away from an opportunity to have some 'fun' with Vahn, she immediately volunteered her presence...Lefiya, doing her best to 'ignore' the finger poking into her cheek, eventually gave up and released a small, pouty, sigh. At this moment, Vahn brought his finger from her cheek, lightly pinching her ear and making her startle, moving away from his hand as the two pointy protrusion began wagging up and down. With furrowed brows, it looked like Lefiya wanted to say something until Vahn beat her to the punch, saying, "Don't worry so much, Lefiya...tomorrow, why don't the three of us go on a day trip outside of the City? I know a nice and scenic spot next to a river where we can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature..." Though he explained it that way, Vahn winked at the end of his statement, sealing an unspoken promise.The pout on Lefiya's face vanished in an instant, replaced by a crimson blush that seemed to have hit her a little too hard as the wings on her back spattered before furling back into her body. With spinning eyes, she fell from the sky while Vahn easily caught her in his embrace. Seeing that Lefiya was stuck in a happy delusion, Vahn just shook his head and smiled wryly when he saw that all twenty-nine arrows were chasing after a frantic Tiona. Ais and Fenrir were just standing in the air watching her be chased around, all while shouting, "Aaaaah, Lefiya, I'm soooooorrry~!"---After enjoying a...very difficult to describe night, Vahn was flying through the sky at a leisurely pace while Lefiya and Ais flanked his sides. It was very helpful that both girls were able to fly on their own, even if Lefiya's speed was somewhat lackluster. She could actually run faster than she flew, though her agility in the air was very high since her flight pattern was omnidirectional. There wasn't a big difference between her wanting to move up, down, forward, or backward, all while having an 'absolute awareness' of the space around her. Much like his own, Lefiya's Innate, [Fairy Queen's Domain], gave her a spherical bubble of fourteen meters around her body. Within this zone, Lefiya was instinctually aware of almost everything, especially the flow of mana.At the same time, though it was hard to tell at times, Lefiya's mentality had been subtly changed, now possessing a bit of pride that hadn't been there previously. It could have just been a change brought about by the fact that she was now an adult, but she was very quick to take a stance on things now, instead of just getting caught up in the momentum of others. Also, as she had been somewhat quiet in the past, it was very easy to notice that she had become much more outspoken than before, oftentimes even guiding a conversation topic that she was interested in.None of these changes had been that surprising to Vahn as, according to what Sis was able to explain, the vast majority of people would have an Innate that alters their state of mind once reaching Tier 3. This was to enable them to develop the mentality that would allow them to reach higher Tiers as, for the vast majority of people, it was 'very' difficult to even wrap their heads around concepts like Laws. Yes, they could understand the theory behind them, even exercise some minor control over ones they had an affinity with, but this wasn't 'true comprehension'. Once a person was able to fully understand a Law, which would be impossible under normal circumstances, they could even 'break' it.One of the most extreme examples of this would be if someone had somehow achieved mastery over Space and Time Laws. For the former, they would theoretically be able to move at any point in space, as if there were no distance between the two points at all. Pushing that concept even further, they could even move 'outside' of space, entering into the true void where only pure, formless, energy existed. As for those with mastery over Time, they would be able to move forward, backward, sideways, or even 'parallel' through multiples axes of time. An absolute extreme would be, should they be able to control both Space and Time, they could even create an 'entire universe' within the true void...even though it would 'technically' be empty.While he was thinking these thoughts, Vahn was also talking with Lefiya and Ais, primarily about the upcoming Monster Feria and anything that was troubling them in their magic studies. Lefiya, having always been prodigious at Magic, had been picking it up very quickly. Most of the other girls, however, had only been able to glean some insight into the techniques they liked. They were still several years of study from being able to pass muster as real Mages, though that time was being shortened greatly by the Sub-Space orb. After all, at this point, nearly two and a half years had passed for the girls that spent the most time in the orb.Even though this was the case, as he had already anticipated, most of the girls hadn't changed much, if at all. Ais was now chronologically older than she had been inside the orb, now more than seventeen years old, compared to her sixteen-year-old self from the manga. Still, as if she had almost been frozen in time, Ais' appearance had barely changed from her fourteen-year-old self, at least proportionally. Her actual appearance had become inarguably more beautiful, possessing a vibrant youth that, because of her propensity to smile much more often, gave her the appearance of a doll whose maker had affixed a perpetual smile to her face.Ais wasn't the most extreme case, however, as even Shizune and Tina, who should be in their growth stages, hadn't changed much at all, especially in the case of Shizune. Vahn had already started to search for methods to accelerate their physical growth, without harming their lifespans, as it would likely be necessary for Alexa as well. When she came out of the orb in the future, even though she would be over 100 years old, Alexa would have the appearance of a young girl around 9-10. Afraid of drawing a little too much attention, by having a Manor full of perpetually young girls, Vahn had hit the books hard, all while Fenrir taught the girls her unnamed transformation magic...Seeing that they had nearly arrived, Vahn broke free from his wandering thoughts and gestured to a very discreet clearing that was opposite a rock formation located next to the river. It wasn't that far away from where he had tried to 'stop' the flow of water, so Vahn had made a mental note to stop by the next time he got a chance. He also wanted to use this as an opportunity to see how much he had improved, if any, as his grudge against the river was still going strong. As for Ais and Lefiya, they hadn't noticed the fiery light in Vahn's eyes and just descended into the clearing before looking around with curious expressions. Vahn had landed in between them and, to ensure they would have adequate privacy, pulled an artifact that had been made by Terra in her large amount of free time.It had the appearance of a small and very homely looking cottage, with two bedrooms, a chimney, and a fully stocked kitchen. However, anyone with a discerning eye, would notice this was no simple trinket and, as Vahn set it down on the ground, the complex magical war at its base began to fluctuate. Moments later, the cottage had grown to its actual size, having been made small by spatial magic that reduced the distances between the individual particulates of mana that made up an object. This was Terra's greatest Masterpiece, thus far, and Vahn had been required to 'heavily compensate' her after requesting to use it for his rendezvous with Ais and Lefiya...Remembering how 'scary' Terra could get, Vahn shook his head lightly to clear his thoughts before turning to the two stunned girls and asking, "Well, shall we take a look? All the furniture inside is completely brand new and, I can personally attest that the bed is very comfortable~." Understanding the true meaning behind Vahn's words, Ais and Lefiya both showed excitement on their beautiful faces, accepting his extends hands a little 'too' eagerly before the three of them headed inside to inspect their little home away from home...and its bedroom...maybe both of them...?(A/N: 24,489/30,000...Sorry guys, this is where my journey ends this time. I managed to beat my previous best, but fifteen hours of almost nonstop writing has literally caused my brain to transcend my body. I have become the infinite but, within that vast infinity, there is nothing at all. The number of typos I've had to fix in these last few chapters has drained what little remained of my mental endurance xD. I hope to do something like this again in the future, but it probably won't be for a few months. Also, though I'm ending things here, technically, I may write some Fenrir's Journey after this. They are much 'lighter' and required significantly less effort to complete. I figure I might actually be able to complete the 30k if I do something easier, though, not before I take a long ass nap xD...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Bullet Hell, Queen's Revenge OST','The Godhand is Rumored to Grant Eternal Youth to Those Graced by it's Touch...','So much room for activities...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

While Vahn was happily going about his life, spending time with his children, making love to beautiful girls and goddesses, and working hard to improve his strength, there were some places where the atmosphere was not so pleasant. One such location was Fokvangr, the main residence of the Freya Familia, located near the richest section of the business district. It was a huge mansion, constructed in the form of a large temple with a solemn atmosphere, even at the best of times. Today, however, this generally solemn atmosphere had turned incredibly tense, almost to the point where the tension was palpable. The weaker members of the Familia, who usually held their heads high with pride, now hung them low, avoiding eye contact with the stronger members to avoid any potential trouble.As for the reason behind this tense atmosphere, it had been because Freya, who rarely visited the main residence, was now at the central region, having gathered all of her Elites. Generally, if she deigned to grace them with her presence, everyone in the Familia would have been beyond ecstatic. Today, however, even the newer members could sense there was something very wrong with the usual Freya, even though there were no visible changes. She still radiated a noble, indomitable aura, and was possessed of an unrivaled beauty that could sway the hearts of both men and women to do her bidding. Unlike her normal self, however, it was like she didn't have any of them in her eyes at all and, though it wasn't as if she had shown them much attention before, it was almost like there was disdain and contempt in her crystal clear, silver eyes...Freya, after gathering all of her Elite members, now sat on her throne as she looked out at all of them neatly gathered in a formation. Ottar, faithful as always, stood at her side radiating an oppressive aura, even without her asking him to do so. There were no servants present so, contrary to her typically behavior, Freya poured a glass of wine for herself. Seeing this, many people became even more tense, especially when Freya turned her eyes towards them. Currently, she didn't quite know what she was feeling but, seeing all of these people that she used to consider interesting, Freya couldn't help but find them...sorely lacking.These were the Elites she had gathered over the years, many of which she had groomed from a very young age into capable Adventurers to serve her will. Just three days ago, Freya would have looked upon these people as her precious treasures, things to be cherished, polished, and displayed proudly. Now, Freya felt like they were all lacking substance, each weaker than the next, severely limited in their potential. All of the effort she put into grooming them now seemed wasted, as if she were a fool blinded by her own restricted view of the world. The only ones that stood out among the two-hundred people she had gathered, other than Ottar at her side, were Allen, Hogni, Hedin, Grer, Afrigg, Dvalinn, Berling, and, the only female holding her waning interest, Helun.Allen Fromel was a Cat Person she had picked up in the past, essentially a stray kitten she had taken pity on after his clan was wiped out. She had high hopes for him as, in order to seek vengeance and protect his sister, he had trained tirelessly to become stronger. As for the Dark Elf, Hogni, he served as a fine counterbalance to Hedin, a handsome Elf she had shown favor to. Freya had originally scouted them both, as she found that pairing them together, even though they hated each other, was very interesting. Then, there were the Gulliver Brothers, each rather unimpressive alone, but having incredible potential when together...at least, that is what Freya used to believe...The last among them, completely ignoring the other one-hundred-ninety-one gathered 'Elites', was Helun, a beautiful Human woman that Freya had raised as her protege after Syr left her care. She was another demigoddess that Freya had stumbled across, though her fate had been inarguably more tragic than the grey-haired beauty she had been fond of in the past. Much like Syr, Helun had been raised as an orphan, even possessing similar attributes with an intrinsic ability to charm other people. Unlike Syr, however, Helun hadn't been so fortunate in her youth, suffering at the hands of the people who were supposed to have cared for her. By the time Freya discovered her existence, Helun had been a very high earning prostitute in a private brothel that served men with more 'deviant' tastes, typically targetted towards younger 'women'Contrasting Syr, once again, Helun had been far more willing to be sculpted, all so that she could get revenge against the people that had wronged her. She willingly embraced everything Freya taught her, learning to manipulate others with the same ease as some people drew breath. At the same time, Helun also worked hard to increase her strength, reaching the peak of Level 4 after only a few years of venturing into the Dungeon. Now, after having completely slaughtered the people that had peddled her as their personal property, Helun had become one of the few females Freya had been interested in grooming. Now, however, much like she was feeling towards all her other Elites, Freya no longer thought she was very interesting...Though it had been more than an hour since everyone gathered, silence continued to dominate the tense atmosphere until Freya finally said, "I have gathered you all here for two reasons. The balance of power within the City has begun to shift in favor of the Alliance and, regardless of what external forces attempt, it is unlikely they would be able to stop the already built momentum. Now, I had always prided my Familia as the strongest, hand picking each member and helping you develop your potential...Unfortunately, with fewer exceptions than fingers on my two hands, I have been left largely disappointed..."Hearing Freya's words, nobody within the formation moved at all, even though the majority of those gathered began to feel as if they had suddenly lost all their value. There were some, however, that could barely contain the smiles that were trying to creep onto their faces. This was especially so when Freya continued, saying, "I do not owe you an explanation, but know that the quality and potential of the next generation is already slated to far exceed the vast majority of you. Within the next few years, I intend to slim down the Familia until it is filled with only those I deem worthy...if you wish to stay, you will have to prove your worth to me. Those that show they have value will be groomed to become even stronger in the future...those that fail to meet my expectations, however...ufufufu~."Everyone present knew exactly what happened to the people that didn't meet Freya's expectations. It didn't matter if they were in her Familia, in other Familias, or even normal civilians. If Freya took an interest in you, and you failed to meet her expectations, it almost exclusively ended in death. It was either that, or you would be forced to flee the City, never returning lest you face your death at the hands of others willing the prove themselves where you failed. Even so, without exception, be they men or women, everyone present wanted to show their worth to this goddess before them, having long given their hearts to her in exchange for power.At this point, Freya's silver eyes were glowing with a violet light as she smiled towards the formation before saying, "Simply put, I will have the two-hundred of you gathered here challenge each other. What kind of challenge you wish to conduct, I will leave that to each of you...however, know that I will only be keeping the top twenty of you. For rules...lets see, I'll make it so that nobody is able to refuse a challenge after they have thrown their nomination into the mix. For those that fail to earn a position after one hour, you will be relegated to logistics until you are able to prove you are worth the effort I've put into grooming you. However...well, I'm sure I don't need to explain myself~."Though there were some that had been thrown into the logistics groups in the past, they typically ended up stuck there indefinitely. After all, everyone within the support troops of the Freya Familia had very clearly defined roles, many of which never offered you a chance for rising above your position. The only thing that could change your fate was to earn some kind of achievement or impress Freya during one of the times when she decided to promote people. After all, Freya considered it troublesome to update the Status Boards of those that hadn't 'earned' the right to receive her attention. However, there were times when she would look for suitable people to serve as replacements for former Elites that had died, meaning it wasn't impossible to rise up again...The first to rise to the challenge was none other than Allen, currently bereft of his spear, who turned to the rest of the Elites and shouted, "Come at me you fuckers! It doesn't matter how many of you weak shits try to step up. Now that Lady Freya had decided to cull the pack, I'll be the first to take the lead and rid her of you mongrels!" However, the moment Allen issued his challenge, a deep voice rose to accept. His ears twitched, as the deep baritone voice had come from behind him, while he had previously been facing the rest of the formation. Turning his head slowly, Allen saw Ottar removing all of his equipment, revealing a simple black, form-fitting shirt that clearly displayed all of his muscles for others to bear witness to.Repeating his previous statement, Ottar matched gazes with Allen and said, "I, Ottar, will challenge you, Allen Fromel. Come." Allen felt like every bit of rationale that had remained inside of him had been broken, as if a powerful and unbridled rage had consumed him. However, his instincts kept him from immediately moving to attack Ottar, knowing exactly how he would end up as a result. If not for the fact that Freya had laid out the rule of not giving up a challenge, Allen would have simply dismissed Ottar's blatant provocation. Now, having already thrown out his name in such an overbearing manner, Allen had no choice but to face against the man known as the King. The fact they were both unarmed seemingly put him at a disadvantage but, after witnessing what Ottar was capable of with a sword, Allen knew it wouldn't have made any significant difference.Seeing things play out as she had expected, Freya smiled and said, "Ara~? How interesting...I didn't think two of the favorites to win the first seat would fight each other in the first round. This is exactly the type of motivation I wish to see in my Elites...ufufufufu~." Freya's words were the final nail in the proverbial coffin, at least that was how people felt as they watched Ottar and Allen get into their positions at the center of the arena they had gathered in. Everyone knew Ottar would come out ahead but they were still interested to see how far Allen could go before he had to swallow his pride and back out.Facing Ottar, who was standing nearly 50m from his position, Allen had a scowl on his face as he cursed, "You big bastard...those at the top shouldn't be fighting against each other. Why do you have to try and fuck me over from the very beginning!?" Without responding to Allen's statement, Ottar got into a stance, arms raised, legs spread, which gave him the appearance of an immovable mountain. There was a serious expression on his face with an unwavering, resolute look in his eyes. Seeing this, Allen felt even more pissed off and, using his superior speed, tried to get in close enough to land at least one hit on Ottar's smug face.Though they had expected Ottar to win in the end, nobody was expecting to witness the sight happening before their eyes. Allen's speed made him famously the 'fastest' Adventurer in all of Orario, to the point that there weren't even any contenders for the spot, as many had already died at the tip of his spear. Before Ottar, however, this speed didn't seem to phase him at all as, in one fell swoop, Ottar managed to grab Allen's leg with the precision of a hawk. Though Allen shifted his weight, making use of his incredible flexibility in the process, and tried to smash Ottar's wrist, he wasn't even afforded the opportunity as Ottar suddenly moved with a tyrannical momentum.As if Allen were a sledgehammer that was used to drive a stake into the ground, Ottar flung the lithe Cat Person over his hand, slamming him into the ground below with enough force to actually collapse the floor of the arena. There had been a storage area underneath, but it had been separated from the surface by three meters of reinforced marble, which had now crumbled like a flaky stroodle. Everyone that had witnessed the scene was completely gobsmacked, never expected that Ottar would be so...decisive. That type of attack could have easily killed another Adventurer, terrifying those that had witnessed it to the core.Without any change in her expression, Freya watched the event she had constructed play out along with the rest of her Familia. Currently, there was a cloud of dust obscuring everyone's vision but, after a few seconds had passed, it began to clear. Moments after that, a shadow could be seen climbing out of the smoke, far too big to be Allen, not that he wasn't present. As if he had performed a very simple feat, such as throwing a cloth into a hamper, Ottar walked out of the marbled debris, still clinging to Allen's horribly twisted leg as he dragged the limp Cat Person behind him. After coming to a stop, Ottar 'lightly' threw Allen's mangled body towards a woman with cropped green hair, standing on the periphery of the group of Elites. She was someone that had proficiency with healing magic, though not nearly appropriate for repairing the damage Allen had sustained. Looking at him, it was hard to believe he was still even alive...Turning his head away from the woman, as if he weren't at all concerned about the matter of Allen's survival, Ottar looked towards everyone else and plainly said, "Do not overestimate yourselves. If you lack the confidence to rise into the top twenty, do not waste Lady Freya's time with your half-hearted resolution. Come with the intent that, if you fail, you will die...now, stay or leave, this will be your last opportunity to consider. After one minute, I will begin choosing who is able to leave by their own efforts..."(A/N: 18,827/30,000...I think I'm getting an ulcer from drinking too many energy drinks xD...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Look at all these people who aren't Vahn...','Yare yare...','Ottar ain't fucking around O_O...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 747: Follow-Up