Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Several hours after his battle with Hippolyta, Vahn was sitting alongside Tiona and Tione while Myrine looked toward him with a mixture of caution and reverence. Though she could have been misunderstood as looking towards the person sitting in his lap, Vahn was very aware of the red permeating through her aura as she remained near the unconscious Hippolyta. She had been given basic treatment by Vahn and they were currently waiting for her to awaken to settle important matters. Vahn could have forced her awake but the previous situation didn't make it conducive to his intentions since the presence of several thousand fiery-eyed Amazonesses made it difficult to converse.Not really caring about the conversation to come, Kali was wearing the same smock Vahn had gifted her as she snuggled up in Vahn's lap. She might have taken her 'image' into consideration around most Amazonesses but Myrina, Hippolyta, and even Bache were exceptions. Kali wanted them to know exactly what kind of relationship she had with Vahn since it would force them to take measured action instead of just acting as they pleased. As it stood, Myrina couldn't even keep eye contact with her and was instead fully focused on Vahn, just as Kali had intended. Since she also got to receive some of Vahn's pampering, it was an ideal situation from Kali's perspective...Eventually, as a result of her own natural recovery being exceptionally high, Hippolyta began to stir awake. She released a muffled and painful groan as she rolled onto her side before lifting her tired body into a seated position. Though it hadn't been his intention, Vahn had ruptured many of her organs and broken nearly half the bones in her body with his final attack. He had healed all of the life-threatening wounds but, so Hippolyta wouldn't be able to make excuses, he allowed most of the damage to remain. This would force Hippolyta to accept the reality of the situation and make their coming discussion much easier. There were several things Vahn needed her to do and, after a short conversation with Tione, he also had a few things to ask her before preparing to leave Telskyura.Even before opening her eyes, Hippolyta had sensed several presences around her so she wasn't surprised to find Vahn sitting at the side. Though her mind did dull a bit when she saw Kalii sitting in his lap, causing her to rub her head before taking a second look, she didn't make any comment about the arrangement. Instead, Hippolyta gave Tiona and Tione a once-over before training her eyes on Vahn as she said, "You are very powerful, Vahn Mason. I'll admit that I underestimated your strength and made light of a situation that I should have treated with full seriousness. I won't make any excuses though so my life is yours to do with as you please, at least until I manage to defeat you in turn..." Though there was a great deal of resentment in her heart, Hippolyta couldn't ignore the heat rising in her body just from being held under Vahn's gaze so she ended up averting her eyes to try and stay calm...Vahn produced a small smile in response to Hippolyta's words before saying, "I want you to remain as the Queen of the Telskyura and help pave the way towards a better future for all Amazonesses. I've spent more than three months watching how your people live and understand that rapid change could be detrimental. That doesn't mean we can't start laying the foundation-" Before Vahn was able to finish, Hippolyta began to massage her temples as she said, "Just tell me what I need to do, Vahn. You managed to defeat me in battle so I don't really need to hear your reasons and excuses..." Since she hadn't spent that much time around Vahn yet, Hippolyta wasn't accustomed to his habit of trying to explain and justify everything.Ignoring the laughter from Kali, Tiona, and even Myrina, Vahn remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "We will change how Amazonesses are raised, allowing them to balance their training with play. At the same time, I will install all of the necessary barriers, formations, and equipment to make it possible for you to do battle simulations. This will allow Amazonesses to fight to their heart's content without risk of serious injury or death. It doesn't really matter to me how adult Amazonesses settle matters but I don't want to see children losing their lives unnecessarily. In exchange, I will also provide several other benefits that will allow all Amazonesses in the future to become far more powerful than the average member of the warrior tribe..."Hippolyta had a serious expression on her face when she heard all of the things Vahn wanted to change but, after hearing the final part of his statement, she couldn't help raising her brows slightly. This was something noted by Kali who immediately added, "I have seen for myself that he is telling the truth. Vahn has several methods that will allow Amazonesses to prosper without forcing us to change much about the way we live. In the future, we should treat it as a great failure if we allow younglings to lose their lives because of the rules we made. Though we will continue to use the crucible system, we will start to filter Amazonesses from a young age to make sure they don't end up as victims in a system that they are forced to adhere to. You shouldn't treat this as Vahn placing more restrictions on our people and instead look at it as if he were removing the ones we had placed without even noticing."Though it would be nearly impossible for her to outright admit it, Kali had started to notice that things weren't as clear-cut as she had thought. Since even girls like Mars and Khodiva were able to resist their instincts through sheer willpower, Kali knew she couldn't use it as an excuse any longer. She knew the people around Vahn were able to become extremely powerful over a short period of time so it was inarguable that his methods would allow the Amazonesses to prosper. Just the tattoo he had placed on Tione's body was something that would revolutionize the way every Amazoness live in the future since it would allow those with naturally high mana to control themselves and become even stronger...With Kali adding her words into the mix, Hippolyta's breathing became a little hot and ragged while Myrina's fingers were noticeably trembling. There were few things more important to an Amazoness than the promise of greater power and, being near the 'peak' of where even historical Amazonesses would begin to decay, both powerful girls couldn't help but feel enticed by such words. It was at this moment that Vahn decided to explain a few things, but not before asking, "Hippolyta, are you the mother of Tiona and Tione...?" Though he could have easily gotten an answer from Kali, Vahn wanted to hear it from Hippolyta herself. He wanted to know what kind of reaction she would have, especially if she was aware of the relationship between her and two of Vahn's long-time friends and lovers...Hippolyta had already started thinking about how her country would begin to change in the future so she was a little surprised by Vahn's words, causing a frown to adorn her face. She gave Tiona and Tione another glance, her eyes coming to a stop when she met Tione's gaze. Eventually, her frown softened into a tired expression as she released a long sigh and admitted, "They are indeed my children..." There were a lot of emotions contained within Hippolyta's sigh, everything from pain, longing, pride, and, most notably, regret. As for why she felt these emotions, Hippolyta didn't seem keen on explaining since she quickly averted her eyes from Tione and added, "Blood relations have no great significance other than ensuring that future Amazonesses have greater potential. As Queen, I must treat all Amazonesses as if they were my children so do not blame me for treating my own children as something unique and special..."Because of the way their society was structured, Hippolyta was very aware of the fact that any special treatment she would have afforded her daughters would have been detrimental. Other Amazonesses would have treated them harshly if they were given preferencial treatment and, as had happened in the distant past, there was a high chance such actions would sow the seeds of corruption. If they had grown up thinking they were special, especially as the daughters of royalty, their nature could have been warped as they developed a sense of entitlement and self-importance. This was the exact reason why most other civilizations would stagnate, as those with great power and authority would try to pass it on to unworthy heirs for no other reason than they were related...Knowing there was no way to argue against Hippolyta, Vahn simply closed his eyes for a few seconds as he allowed Tiona and Tione to take in their mother's words. Tione had lowered her head slightly after Hippolyta averted her eyes but Tiona showed genuine surprise as she exclaimed, "You're my mom...!?" She was leaning far forward with an excited look on her face as a vibrant and innocent smile blossomed from her lips. Her reaction had caused Hippolyta's frown to deepen but she still nodded her head in response, causing Tiona to begin laughing happily. This made Hippolyta extremely confused, at least until Tione released a heavy sigh and explained, "You may never come to understand it, but we've learned the importance of family. Also, if you had been a better parent, there is a chance we might have never met Vahn..."Though she felt great conflict in her heart, Tione's own words had brought her comfort as she said the last few words while looking at Vahn. There was unconcealed love in her eyes, especially when Vahn turned to match her gaze and returned a loving smile of his own. Tiona also seemed intent on joining in on the emotional moment as she practically tackled Vahn, Kali, and Tione while exclaiming, "That's right, isn't it!? Without having lived through the past, we never would have been able to get to this point! Ehehehehehe~." It hadn't really shown in her actions and responses, but Tiona had been a little hurt but the revelation that Hippolyta was her mother. She had played it off well but hearing her own sister's words had also alleviated the momentary anxiety that she had felt...Seeing this play taking place before her, Hippolyta's eyes became dull since she didn't really know what to make of the situation. The fact her goddess was also 'tolerating' her daughter's actions was something that caused Hippolyta great confusion, enough for her to give Myrina a look that seemed to ask, 'what is going on here...?'. Myrina just shook her head in response, not really knowing what to make of the awkward display since it wasn't really something she had witnessed in the thirty-seven years of her life...After Tiona finally settled down, Vahn decided to advance the conversation forward once again, explaining, "I won't blame you for the decisions you made in the past but you should know that I care deeply for all of my children. Until you can mend your relationship with your own daughters, please don't expect that I would afford you the opportunity to make another mistake. Also, though I don't have much grounds to stand on when saying such things, I wouldn't be comfortable with having a child with you while your daughters are already pregnant with my children. Wait until things settle down and, if you have made-." Vahn's words were left trailing since Hippolyta looked toward him with a dull expression that he wasn't sure how to interpret.Shortly after Vahn's words came to a stop, Hippolyta explained in an equally dull tone as the expression in her eyes, "The biological purpose of all Amazonesses is to ensure that the generation that follows is more powerful than the last. I already have two capable daughters and am already near the age when my final journey would begin. Though I will follow your orders and bring about the changes you desire, my only other focus is training a successor. If you don't want to give me a child, I don't have the room to offer a complaint..." Even with her body burning in Vahn's presence, Hippolyta wasn't a young Amazonesses that couldn't control her urges. Since she had already given birth to two capable daughters, one of which even caused warning signals to trigger in the back of her mind, Hippolyta didn't really care if she couldn't have another child.Vahn was momentarily at a loss since he had never actually thought about a future where Hippolyta wouldn't try to pressure him into having a child together. He also felt a great deal of relief since, as much as he loved and cared for his kids, Vahn knew things were going to grow increasingly complex in the future. Having one fewer child wasn't a bad thing, especially since there was currently no real love between him and Hippolyta. The one thing that weighed most heavily on his heart was the fact that, without any leverage against her, there was a good chance Hippolyta would never reconcile with Tiona and Tione. Vahn knew that the bond between parent and child could be shakey at times but he also felt like it wasn't something so fragile that it couldn't be repaired with concerted effort...As if she could read his mind, Tione leaned into Vahn's arm and whispered, "It's fine, Vahn...we should think about our own future from now on, not the past..." Even before she knew the whole truth, Tione had already decided to put the past behind her after returning to Telskyura. She didn't have any real feelings towards Hippolyta and, even if they didn't fix their relationship in the future, it didn't matter that much. Her biggest concern was the relationship she would have with her own daughter, causing Tione to even make a solemn promise in her heart to be a better mother than her own...Hippolyta watched the interaction between Vahn, Tione, and, refusing to be left out, Tiona with a small glimmer in her eyes. It was almost imperceptible, but the corner of her lips curled up slightly, causing Kali to produce a sly grin that caused Hippolyta to immediately fix her expression. Vahn had also noticed the change in her aura but chose to ignore it since there were no real benefits with putting Hippolyta on the spot. Just knowing she cared about Tiona and Tione, at least a little, was enough for him to accept how things had developed. Things were already a little complicated with Milan and Tina so avoiding a similar situation would make his own life easier...For the better part of three hours, Vahn talked about the future with Kali and Hippolyta, including the fact that Kali would be migrating to Orario to establish a community for the Amazonesses there. Since this would make it practically impossible for her to update Status Boards, Vahn would be establishing a teleportation ward in the Coliseum's underground that would allow Kali to move between Orario and Telskyura with ease. As for Hippolyta, she would remain in Telskyura and begin training her successor while Myrina, having never left the country previously, would become her official Envoy. Unlike Hippolyta, she genuinely desired a child and wanted to challenge Vahn to battle to determine the nature of their future relationship...Ultimately, Vahn would be returning to Orario with Tiona and Tione while Kali would venture out with a large part of her Familia once Spring had come. Vahn would establish the teleportation ward before that, as there was no way Kali would want to spend more than six months apart, but the final journey would be made by her people on foot. She would be bringing with her most of the 'unique' Amazonesses that didn't fit into the current system while the reforms Vahn wanted to introduce would slowly be introduced into Amazoness society. This accounted for more than three-hundred people and they would become the 'core' for the community that would be created within Orario in the future...---Long after the discussion had come to an end, Vahn found himself in Kali's chambers once again, this time with some uncommon additions. Previously, nobody had been allowed to stay overnight in Kali's chambers, Vahn being the only exception, but he currently had Tiona, Tione, and even Bache alongside him as they all shared a large bed that had replaced the fire at the center of the room. The area had been sealed off and, though they hadn't done anything that required greater privacy, the only person wearing anything clothing was Vahn. His body was entwined with the four girls as they all cuddled together, including the now veilless Bache.Vahn had healed the scar on her face since they had already broached the point of no return when he saved Bache during her duel with Tiona. Kali had been aware of this as well and, after dismissing everyone lingering around her chambers, allowed Bache to share a bed with her and Vahn in an obvious attempt to show that she was placing herself near the same level as other girls. If not for the fact that even Tiona and Tione had allowed Kali to 'steal' the spot on Vahn's stomach, something which Kali had gladly taken, it might have been a convincing act. Even so, Vahn knew that Kali was making an effort so he spoiled her for a bit after giving each girl a rather deep full-body massage...Now, Vahn was the only one awake while the four brown-skinned beauties used his body as a pillow. There was a warm and comfortable aura permeating through the room, courtesy of Vahn's domain, and Vahn was enjoying the 'simplicity' of the moment now that things were beginning to transition in the direction he wanted. He had learned a lot during this long excursion and, though it hasn't always been easy, Vahn knew it would make him a more complete and capable person in the future. Since it had already been determined that he would become an Emperor in the near future, Vahn knew that experiences like this would be instrumental in ensuring the success of his reign...---(A/N: I have to push the 3-4 chapter releases to Monday since I'm a lot more fatigued than I expected. Now that I have a long weekend, it seems like my body is allowing all the stress and tensions I have built over the last two weeks out and I'm feeling a bit sick. There will still be 1-2 more chapters today but I got a late start after sleeping for eleven hours and I'm currently writing them in sequence xD. This is the final chapter of this arc though and the next volume will be the last of Vahn's adventures in Danmachi, at least until he returns in the future o3o~!)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn's talks too much xD...','Even if parents are terrible, the bond between mother and child is not so easily broken...(A/N: Damn, typing this out actually made me have to take a moment)','The simple things in life make the more complicated things easier to tolerate')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

A lot changed after Vahn's return to Orario, even though the Winter season was usually a time where everything would slow to a halt. Contrary to the past, the atmosphere in Orario was extremely lively as the sounds of construction and the perpetually ongoing festivities continued to permeate through society. With Vahn's reforms, the economy was flourishing and the means by which people could entertain themselves had increased greatly. Other than the introduction of sports, there had been a rapidly evolving entertainment culture where music and theater were becoming increasingly popular. At the same time, Vahn had purchased a variety of different board games that had been introduced into the market while several other forms of 'simulated' events were becoming popular in the Coliseums.One thing of note was the fact that many of the leaders he had contacted had already started to arrive in the city, even though there were still several weeks before the meeting was scheduled. They had been showing up at the Hearth Manor to try and have private meetings with Vahn, each trying to build an amicable relationship with him to ensure they would have greater benefits in the future. Most of them were turned away long before they even came to the attention of Vahn but there were a few persons of interest he made an exception to meet with. These were dignitaries from some of the nations that Orario had already established trade relations in the past while a few were leaders that Vahn's information network made out to be capable or wise.Even without making the meeting public, there were already dozens of rumors circulating within Orario about why Vahn had called so many people into the City. People had affectionately referred to him as the Emperor of Orario in the past but now that Vahn was in a position where he directly influenced other world leaders, it no longer sounded like a joke. This was especially true amongst the growing communities of Pallums, Beast Humans, Elves, and anyone who had directly benefitted from Vahn's assistance in the past. He also had an extreme level of influence with the successful merchant Familias and, after providing support to the fringe territories during the harsh winter, his popularity had skyrocketed in a very short period of time.Much of this popularity was the result of the efforts of Loki, Hephaestus, Freya, Fortuna, and many of the other gods that would make up the Divine Council in the future. Loki, in particular, had been using the Hermes Familia to proactively spread rumors that painted Vahn in a positive light while Fortuna had been flexing the financial might of the Alliance to seize control of the entire market, both inside of Orario and outside. It was her efforts, combined with the assistance of the Valkyries, that had caused many of the nation's leaders to arrive early. Since there were few nobles that wouldn't want to have a positive relationship with the person that would control the markets in the future, they were competing with each other behind the scenes to be the first to approach Vahn and the core members of the Alliance...Though not fully aware of what the goddesses had been doing on his behalf, Vahn knew they were taking actions to ensure that his rise had as few hiccups as possible. As a result, after returning from Telskyura with his avatar, Vahn had been spending a fair amount of time with Loki, Fortuna, and Freya every day. They rarely talked about serious issues, unless it was something pressing that Vahn needed to know about, and just spent the time lounging and discussing other matters. Vahn's relationship with Fortuna had been steadily improving as well, to the point that they eventually ended up sleeping with each other a few times. She wasn't ready to have a child just yet but that didn't mean they couldn't enjoy a bit of quality time together. It helped that Fortuna had a positive relationship with most of the other goddesses and had even won over some of his children after bringing them a few exotic gifts that her Familia had acquired through trade.As for other goddesses that Vahn had a budding relationship with, Kali had come to reside in Freya's Manor for a short while as the construction of the Amazoness community was still underway. Her Familia had yet to set out on their journey but it didn't stop her from having Vahn escort her over to spend time together beforehand. She wasn't allowed at the Manor just yet so she spent most of her time at the Coliseum with Ganesha, who hailed from the same Pantheon, whenever Vahn was busy. Seeing the various events taking place firsthand had been an eye-opening experience for Kali and, after bringing Hippolyta over to experience one of the major tournaments, both seemed far more accepting of the idea that it would become a national pastime for all Amazonesses in the future.Vahn's main focus during these times, excluding his unavoidable responsibilities, was taking care of his present and future children. Artemis' pregnancy had been relatively short since she had spent a fair amount of time within the Space-Time orb. She ended up giving birth to a healthy baby boy with uniquely pink hair and light-blue eyes. After a bit of discussion, they decided to name him Orion since, much like Vahn, he had become the object of Artemis' love and affection. His Guardian ended up being a creature known as a Wandering Owl who, much like Orion, possessed abilities related to Time. Vahn hadn't made the same mistake as before so he bestowed Orion with his artifact and [Heroic Tale] while his son had been napping in Artemis' embrace.Orion ended up having pseudo-Divinities related to Love, Animals, and, likely as a result of Artemis residing within the Sub-Space orb, Time. His artifact was a bow known as [Oebstus] that, like all artifacts, would grow along with Orion and help him strengthen his soul. It had the effect of completely ignoring all defenses and, according to the description, could even target 'concepts' like emotions. Vahn was curious about the functionality of the bow and wondered how powerful it could become if Orion developed it to an extreme. After all, being able to target concepts was almost like being able to influence the laws themselves. So long as his understanding of the target was high enough, Orion could potentially even use his bow to damage a person's 'ego' in the future...With the birth of another child, combined with his relationship with his other children, Vahn spent most days with a contented smile on his face. Most of Vahn's time with his main body was spent helping his children study, train their bodies, or simply playing around and having fun. This included girls like Yggy and, even though she was far older than he was, Diana. The former was exceptionally intelligent and had been studying with Terra to become an equally exceptional mage. As for Diana, she was given the 'important' task of making sure Vahn's room was cleaned every day since she would often get distracted with more detailed work. She still acted as a Maid, almost as if it were a matter of pride for her, but most of her time was spent just playing with the children who most closely matched her appearance's age.---Vahn was genuinely enjoying his relatively peaceful life at the moment, even though the looming 'threat' of his high Karma constantly lurked in the back of his mind. Fortunately, even without him doing much, Vahn was earning well over a million OP per day while more concerted efforts could net him over ten million. He was growing progressively closer to the requisite amount to purchase a dimensional anchor so the only things he had to genuinely concern himself with was uniting the Continent and conquering the Dungeon. The former was a foregone conclusion while the latter simply depended on when he could allocate the time to probe the Dungeon's depths. It helped that the girls were constantly increasing their strength since Ais, Lili, Haruhime, and Lefiya had already been able to clear down to the 56th Floor through their own efforts. Vahn's personal record was Floor 58 so he knew exactly how capable they had to be to reach that point without relying on his assistance.While thinking of the Dungeon and what awaited him in the deeper floors, Vahn's perception became aware of the presence making its way toward his avatar. His main body was currently enjoying the companionship of the Xenos back at Spero while he had been using his avatar had been meditating while in his Qinglong form. He was currently seated inside an empty stone chamber that had been created by Terra within the Sub-Space orb for his own personal use. Few people would come to disturb him during his training so Vahn's awareness had immediately taken note of the subtle fluctuations in the person's aura. The aura belonged to Mikoto and he could tell she was very apprehensive about interrupting his private training session so he quickly rose to his feet before teleporting behind her.Mikoto jumped nearly a meter off the ground when Vahn appeared right behind her but she quickly calmed down by patting her rather buxom chest and taking a few deep breaths. Vahn's expression was exceptionally gentle as he said, "Good afternoon, Mikoto. I was just about to exit my meditation so you're timing is impeccable..." Since he didn't want her to fret over nothing, Vahn gave an easy excuse that would allow Mikoto to relax a bit. She may not have fully believed him, as Vahn seemed to be unable to genuinely lie to the girls around him, but Mikoto still smiled in return as a loving light flashed across her eyes. Since she was wearing a loose purple kimono, Vahn's heart palpitated a few times when he saw the look in her eyes, causing his own expression to soften greatly.With the atmosphere quickly becoming warm between the two, Mikoto seemed to have calmed down a lot as her expression became more natural. She moved a few strands of stray hair before taking a deep breath and saying, "Vahn...I wanted to talk to you about something very important to me. I..." Vahn shook his head gently in response to Mikoto's words while stepping closer to her body and pulling her into his embrace. He stroked her long and silky black hair as he said, "Don't forget that I've also read the [Flying Heavenly Sword Manual]. I know what you need to do and you have my blessing. If possible, I'd like you to wait for a few months since I intend to go to the Far East myself after Tiona and Tione give birth..."Though Mikoto had been able to duel people within the Coliseum's arena, it was hard to develop real sword intent without actual life and death battles against other capable swordsmen. Her skills had developed to an extreme, to the point that she was already rumored to be the most skilled swordswoman in Orario, but they both knew her development had reached a bottleneck. She could still continue to grow, without any real limits, but Mikoto genuinely wanted to master the [Flying Heavenly Sword Manual] to develop it into a true inheritance. Before her strength increased to the point where skill was nearly meaningless, Mikoto wanted to travel the land on her own and polish her skills against other swordsmen.Upon hearing Vahn's words, Mikoto's smile truly blossomed until it had reached her eyes. Their relationship was at a point where Mikoto genuinely felt anxious just thinking about being away from Vahn for a long period of time. Her journey across the sea, combined with the time she would spend traveling the lands, would likely take several years. With Vahn escorting her over, Mikoto would be able to save a lot of time and there was a good chance she would face many powerful foes since he always seemed to get entangled with the most powerful forces in a region. Though she would eventually journey out on her own, as Vahn's presence could also be like a tree that caused other plants to starve for nutrients, Mikoto knew the first leg of her journey would be far more enjoyable with him accompanying her...For the better part of an hour, Vahn and Mikoto discussed their intentions in going to the Far East, including Vahn's intention to seek out Amaterasu while also escorting Tsubaki, Haruhime, and Shizune to their homelands. Girls like Kaguya obviously had things to take care of back in the Far East but, as their strength was still increasing, Vahn had set their matters aside for the time being. He didn't want to spend too much time in the Far East since his Empire was just about to begin 'real' development, so his first journey to the exotic land of swords and spirits would be relatively short.After their discussion had ended, Vahn and Mikoto spent a few hours just enjoying each others company since Vahn decided to treat his comment about being done with his training as the truth. Since Mikoto had a genuine love for hot springs, they moved to one of the private areas near the third spatial suppression area where a small hot spring was located. This was considered a part of Mikoto's territory so, unless she had invited them, few would ever venture to this location. The few exceptions were girls like Haruhime, who Mikoto would often bathe with, and the other women who had grown close to her over the years. This included Tsubaki, Shizune, Tina, and, on occasion, Artemis.Vahn was enjoying the hot and mineral-rich water while the Mikoto rested her rosy-cheeked face against his shoulder. She enjoyed the moments like this, where it was just the two of them, so Mikoto had been a bit more proactive than normal. Currently, she could feel Vahn's warmth spreading through her lower body as she lightly kissed his neck in response. In this manner, the two reduced the distance between their hearts and bodies even further, to the point where they were almost inseparable from each other...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Divine Council is going to have a lot of bias...','Musashi vs. Mikoto, when!?','Quality Time with a demure swordmaiden...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Tensions in the arena had increased rapidly after Vahn's transformation but Hippolyta and Myrina had remained almost entirely unaffected. The latter looked toward her Queen with a questioning gaze and, seeing Hippolyta nod, moved to the viewing area. During the brief moment when Myrina was moving away, Hippolyta uncharacteristically decided to speak, glaring at Vahn as she said, "Your interference will cause my Amazonesses to become weak and complacent. After I defeat you, I'll have you father the next generation until you are no longer useful..." Though she had a lot of resentment towards Vahn, Hippolyta knew he was very powerful and his genes would be of great benefit to all Amazonesses.Vahn had kept his low stance and was waiting for Hippolyta to make the first move but, hearing the words escape her lips, he couldn't help but raise his brows slightly. Though Hippolyta had every right to be proud of her strength, he didn't know what made her so confident that she would come out ahead in a battle between them. She had to know that Tiona was now Level 7 and, with her [Pactio], she could easily fight someone around Level 8. Hippolyta might not be aware of the benefits of a [Pactio] but there had to be people who would have informed her about how easily he had defeated Tiona...Deciding it wasn't really that important, Vahn lowered his head slightly before dashing forward with fierce momentum. He noticed Hippolyta raising her arm, causing a shield to form into existence out of a golden ring she had at her wrist. It wasn't a spatial artifact so Vahn's interest was piqued as a small desire to inspect the wristlet was seeded in his heart. He buried it for the time being, however, as he snaked his feet forward in a practiced motion before twisting his body like a whip. Hippolyta had an expression of mild shock upon witnessing his speed but she still managed to raise her shield and swipe forward while also backstepping to evade Vahn's attack.Vahn's expression became even fiercer when Hippolyta tried to evade him and, even though he didn't consider himself arrogant, a mocking light flashed across his eyes. Whipping his waist had caused his tail to strike heavily against Hippolyta's shield before his continued twist, combined with his agility and flexibility, allowed him to duck low and pass under her blade. This brought him in close striking distance as Hippolyta's dark-brown eyes looked down at him with shock, still in the movement of swinging her blade. Though she had moved backward more than 30m in an instant, Vahn spacing had been impeccable and he hadn't allowed the distance between them to increase even a single millimeter...Though he didn't shout the name of the technique out, Vahn was using a skill called 'Pursuit of the Sacred White Tiger' to keep Hippolyta in his range. His speed was nearly twice that of Hippolyta's at the moment and the technique focused on staying below your opponents center since it made their own movement techniques and attacks harder to perform. Though people didn't have too much difficult striking downward, it wasn't easy to attack an opponent low to the ground without performing a downward swing or swipe, limiting their options and making it harder to follow-through with each successive attack.Taking advantage of the sheer difference in their speed, Vahn brought up his left hand into a claw shape, Wind Elemental energy twisting around his forearm and fingers as he obstructed Hippolyta's vision. She had just started to change the direction of her strike and, out of instinct, tried to swipe away at the obstruction to her vision since the small blades of wind were a serious threat. This allowed Vahn to read her movements as his right hand, also forming the shape of a claw, shot forward from a position around his waist. Hippolyta had still be trying to create distance from him so Vahn had caught her in backward motion as his Sacred Tiger Claw Strike impacted the left side of her ribcage.Hippolyta's attempt to cut off Vahn's left hand resulted in failure as the flow of Wind Elemental energy around his forearms caused her blade to pass around the limb as he nimbly twisted his wrist. This was similar to how Ais would use a barrier of wind to avoid most attacks, though Vahn's was significantly weaker since it wasn't really his specialty. At the same time, the fingers of his right hand had deftly targeted the spacing between Hippolyta's ribs as he tightened his 'claw', hooking his fingers as his nails tore into the proud Queen's flesh. Several things happened the instant he had dealt damage to Hippolyta, some of which had even caught Vahn off guard since it was impossible to know how a person's Innates would manifest...From the ground around Vahn's position, several black vines sprang out from the hard surface of the arena floor and tried to coil around his legs. At the same time, Hippolyta seemed to have given up on trying to evade and instead attempted to wrap Vahn's right arm with her left as she raised her sword into the motion for a downward stab, aiming for the gap between Vahn's neck and shoulder muscles. Vahn had maintained eye contact with her throughout their fight and could see the determination in her eyes as she completely ignored the pain in her ribs and attempted to end the fight. Unfortunately for her, though he was indeed slightly surprised, Vahn had barely even scratched the surface of what his current Baihu form was capable of...Just as it had been coiling around his forearms and paws, there was a dense shroud of Wind Elemental energy around Vahn's legs. It was one of the reasons he was so fast and could easily keep a fixed distance between Hippolyta and himself. When the black vines tried to entangle his legs, the Wind Elemental energy around Vahn's calves exploded outward before forming into a tempest that shredded the vines into fine fibrous particles. This also caused a cloud of dust to form in the arena as the rotational force of the wind began to emulate a weak tornado that surrounded the two combatants. At the same time, Vahn's left paw had once again snaked upward as he 'pulled' Hippolyta to her left by using the claws he had embedded into her side...To her credit, Hippolyta had been able to resist the pain once again as she tried to adjust the angle of her blade, tilting it slightly to try and cut across Vahn's wrist. She didn't think her stabbing action would prove fruitful but it still had a chance to cause Vahn to remove his claws and create a distance of his own. At this rate, there wasn't much she could do since, as much as she hated to admit it, Hippolyta realized that Vahn wasn't just much faster than her, but his Power easily rivaled her own. When his left hand continued forward undaunted, Hippolyta nearly smiled in elation, even as her instincts screamed at her to back away...Though it caused him a bit of pain, Vahn completely ignored Hippolyta's golden sword cutting through nearly half of his forearm and wrist since, even without transforming, he still had the benefit of [Magia Erebea]'s regeneration. Almost immediately after the blade had passed through his flesh, Vahn's wound had mended. He quickly grabbed Hippolyta's wrist this time, meaning he had locked down her effective means of attack for the moment since she was currently trying to prevent his claws from digging deeper into her side by using her vice-like grip to prevent the flexors of his right hand from closing...For a brief moment, it was almost as if the battle had come to an end, allowing the cheering of the crowd to wash over Vahn and Hippolyta as the two glared at each other. Vahn was much taller than the proud Queen in most situations but many of the techniques he had performed thus far required him to have a lower center of gravity. This allowed Hippolyta to look down towards him as she attempted to wrest her wrist free from his grasp. Since their power was truly comparable to each other, this action was ultimately fruitless, causing Vahn to smile lightly as he said, "You have fought well, but I can't let this go on too long..." Knowing that he needed to display his power, Vahn couldn't dally for too long just because he wanted to test his Baihu form against a 'real' opponent.Hippolyta believed Vahn was just using words to taunt her but even that thought didn't have time to pass through her mind since the moment he finished speaking, Vahn rose far beyond his full height. Her head jerked back from the sudden acceleration before, moments later, Hippolyta found herself high in the sky as a result of Vahn's use of [Koku Shundo]. The wind around his arms and legs had also exploded outward, battering against her exposed body like a tempest as he pulled his wrist free from her lock without releasing her swordbearing arm. Hippolyta wanted to use this as an opportunity to strike back but was wholly unprepared for aerial combat as Vahn began to rapidly spin around faster than she could muster a reaction. Her body stretched outward from the intense centrifugal force as waves of hot energy flowed into Hippolyta's arm from where Vahn's hand was in contact with her wrist...What Vahn was doing wasn't exactly a technique that he had learned from observing Baihu, he simply wanted to move the battle into a domain where he had a supreme advantage. Unlike Hippolyta, he was able to fly to the sky with relative ease and, by forcibly relaxing the muscles in her arm, Vahn was able to prevent her from putting up any meaningful resistance as he spun around more than thirty times a second. This wasn't a speed that Hippolyta couldn't deal with but it was extremely disorienting for her while his domain was actively limiting the reactions from her body. She still managed to try and curl up in an attempt to kick him but Vahn used that exact timing to change his orientation as he launched the rapidly tumbling Hippolyta towards the ground.Long before Hippolyta impacted the surface, Vahn had brought both of his hands together, resting the base of his palms against each other as he formed a dual-claw shape. The Wind Elemental energy around his body exploded outward once again, forming a massive green aura around his body that quickly coalesced into the shape of a tiger that was nearly 20m long. Since he wanted to end things in a flash manner, Vahn struck forward with his claws as his voice resonated through the air, easily reaching the ears of every Amazoness below as he exclaimed, "Sacred White Tiger Descends From Heaven...!"Far louder than Vahn's own voice, a terrifying tiger roar echoes through the arena as the visage of the white tiger, comprised of strands of green and silvery energy, barreled towards the earth below. It descended much faster than Hippolyta was falling, enveloping her body and further increasing the momentum of her fall before smashing into the arena below. Vahn made sure to control the energy to disperse outward instead of passing directly into the ground, but it still caused catastrophic damage to the arena as a large crater was left behind after the smoke and dust cleared away. In the exact center of the crater was the unconscious body of Hippolyta, the whites of her eyes showing while vicious lacerations covered much of the surface of her body...Though he had held back a bit, Vahn was surprised by the amount of damage his attack had done to Hippolyta's body since he had expected her to be more durable. He neglected the fact that, unlike most of the people he sparred against, Hippolyta couldn't use techniques like [Cantus Bellax] to protect herself. She also lacked the anti-physical and anti-magical auras of most of the girls, meaning she needed to resist the attack with her physical body alone. Since flesh was generally weak against magical attacks, the amount of damage his technique had done was far beyond expectations...Vahn landed a short distance away from Hippolyta's nearly naked body, his expression stoic and unflustered as the fervent cries from the Amazonesses in the crowd reached his ears. Their auras had meshed together to form a veritable ocean of pink and red that caused Vahn's scalp to tingle since their focus was almost entirely on a specific part of his body. He wondered if this was how the girls that wore relatively skimpy outfits during the sporting matches felt, especially since the event was generally attended by well over a hundred thousand people. Many of these would be men who wanted to witness the rather exciting scene up close, especially since there was the occasional 'slip' where one of the athletes would be exposed. Since many Amazonesses didn't care if they were seen naked, Vahn had to implement rules that uniform malfunctions would result in a penalty if not addressed immediately...Breaking through the fervor of the crowd, an amused laugh spread through the arena that caused a few of the Amazonesses with higher willpower to look toward the source. Kali had a large grin on her face and was clapping boisterously as she exclaimed, "Well done, Vahn, that was a great match! Now, what will you claim as your prize~?" Since he had defeated Hippolyta in honorable combat, Vahn actually had the option of even becoming the first 'King' of the Amazonesses. This was ultimately a meaningless title, however, as he had even greater ambitions than building a harem paradise in this exotic land. After all, unless he brought about several generations worth of changes, there wasn't much development to be made within Telskyura without taking drastic measures.In response to Kali's question, Vahn made eye-contact with the diminutive goddess before passing his eyes over the massive crowd of brown-skinned beauties. He also gave a quick glance towards Amazonesses like Bache and Myrina before resting his gaze upon the smiling faces of Tiona and Tione for a short moment. Then, after nearly a minute of silence, Vahn declared, "I will not become your King, but I will shepherd the Amazonesses towards a future where they can prosper without fully isolating themselves from other societies. In the future, people will look towards the Amazonesses with respect and adulation, not as some species of savages who know nothing but violence and licentiousness..."Though Vahn's words were measured, he quickly noticed that most of the Amazonesses didn't even seem to know what he was saying. His speech was automatically translated into their common tongue but some of the words were a little too 'big' for most of the girls in the crowd. Vahn could even see Kali's brow twitch slightly as her aura began to flicker, a sign that she was doing her best to keep her composure but desperately wanted to say something. This caused Vahn to withhold a wry smile as he shook his head lightly, spreading his arms wide as he shouted, "I'll make sure each of you knows how to have fun while also growing strong. Follow me and I promise that even flying through the sky won't be impossible...!"As Vahn's words fell, he slowly began to rise into the sky while also extending his hand towards Hippolyta. Actions spoke much louder than words in situations like this so Vahn created a massive column of light that enveloped the unconscious Queen's body as he added, "The Amazonesses have always been a race that sought to increase the power of future generations. I will create a world where each successive generation of Amazonesses is far more powerful than the last. You 'will' all do as I say and, if you have any complaints, feel free to try and defeat me in battle. You'll have to go through the Amazonesses around me first, however...!"Though they hadn't rehearsed anything, Tiona and Tione also leaped into the sky and, even though they couldn't fly by their own means, Vahn was able to support them with his telekinesis. Form the perspective of normal Amazonesses, however, this looked like they were flying on their own while the white light that had encompassed their Queen slowly faded away to reveal her pristine body, now completely healed. Vahn caught her in a bridal carry as he looked down at the surrounding Amazonesses and said, "If you want to set me as your goal, you will have to seek strength through the path I will open for you. Unless you think you can match up against proud warriors like these girls, do not waste my time..." The words were a bit harsh, but Vahn knew it was necessary to say them if he wanted to avoid nearly every Amazoness in the crown trying to seek him out in the future.Since strength was the most respected trait within Telskyura, none of the Amazonesses in the crowd were upset by Vahn's words. They instead became even more excited and seemed to be looking forward to the opportunity to increase their own strength to try and approach Vahn in the future. Many had misconstrued his words as both a challenge and a promise, believing they could one day earn a place at his side if they became strong enough. This wasn't exactly false but they would have a lot more than just Tiona and Tione to deal with if they wanted to try their luck at starting a relationship with Vahn. He had already made far too many 'exceptions' at this point and, now that things had developed to this extent, Vahn had a few more promises to keep before he was just about done with expanding his already ridiculous harem...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Hippolyta's Priorities xD...','Fights where one party severely outclasses the other are relatively anti-climactic...','A thousand years from now, Vahn will look back on the harem he built in Danmachi with a tired expression and glazed eyes...all with a small smile on his face')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 958: Aftermath