Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

While her Master was busy being tormented by a young prodigy, Fenrir was busy leaving a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs on the mainland of Tempe Terra. Her Master had prepared an island-wide formation to conceal their base, so, unless they had an extreme level of mastery of Space, locating even a trace of the island was exceptionally difficult.Anticipating the arrival of Ala Rubra, Fenrir had been tasked with killing a few powerful monsters in order to leave traces of her presence. To most, the sites of her battles would just seem like a scuffle between powerful beasts, but, with several members standing near the absolute pinnacle of power within Mundus Magicus, Ala Rubra should be able to ascertain the truth.With this in mind, Fenrir was dashing through the sky in her wolf transformation, her paws leaving visible imprints on Space as she created footholds within the void.Fenrir was actually quite fond of running through the sky, but, with a mission to focus on, her eyes reflected an absolute state of focus as she followed subtle traces of powerful magical auras with her nose. Her nose was so sensitive that she could even detect trace amounts of Arika's and Theo's aura from several thousand kilometers away, so, when it came to tracking down powerful magical beasts, there was no hiding from her senses.Perhaps sensing its approaching doom, a massive chicken with a reptilian tail, dragon-like horns, and peculiar spiral eyes released a thunderous caw in response to Fenrir's approach. It stood more than 20m in height, and, though it looked like an overgrown chicken to most, the true nature of the beast was the offspring between a cockatrice and an earth dragon. This allowed it to run rampant in the region surrounding Tempe, as, due to the presence of the Great Spirit of Earth, there was a vast quantity of earth elemental energy to nourish its growth and empower its attacks.Undaunted by the physical shockwave that passed over her body like a gentle breeze, Fenrir's aura began to erupt from her body with tremendous force. Though she was already a giant wolf, an even larger and more majestic version of her current form manifested behind her, and, before it even had the chance to pop out an egg in surprise, the hybrid creature's eyes widened as it felt a toothy maw close around its neck.With her [Apex Predator], Fenrir was able to drastically reduce the power of other 'monsters', and, if their determination was lacking, she could even cause their minds to collapse, stalling their thought process in its tracks. This was what spelled the end for the hybrid, as, from its perspective, all it saw was a one-hundred-meter tall wolf staring down at it from the Heavens. In reality, Fenrir had used a variation of Shundo to instantly close the distance, her jaws closing around its neck like tofu before she proceeded to take several large chunks out of its head and body.Feeling her power increasing by a marginal amount, a tingling sensation spread through Fenrir's body that caused her to shiver like a dog shaking off water. She didn't like devouring fire and earth elemental energy, as, despite having no real flavor, the moments preceding its conversion into pure magical energy always made her stomach feel weird. As for the blood, bone, and other viscera, she had no reaction at all, and, if it didn't unnerve those close to her Master, Fenrir wouldn't hesitate to devour all her prey.Choosing to leave around seventy percent of the hybrid's body untouched, Fenrir took a few steps back before circling around and releasing a sonorous humming sound from her throat. If there had been any witnesses to the event, they would have been completely shocked, as, rather than a wolf's growl, it sounded like the voice of a woman performing a vocal exercise.After warming up her throat for a few seconds, as she didn't like to strain her voice unless it was for her Master's sake, Fenrir plopped her butt on the ground before raising her head to release a rather sonorous howl. This sound seemed to echo for hundreds of kilometers, but, more notably, the area surrounding Fenrir experienced a rather drastic change. Her howl had released a pale blue pulse of energy, and, as the note was carried by the wind, ice began to build up in the surroundings, glazing several hundred meters in a layer of magical permafrost.In order to conserve her energy, Fenrir elected to manipulate the ice and water elemental energy in the atmosphere instead of using her own. This was another indicator that someone had reached the level of an Archmage, as, rather than squander their own reserves, they relied on the energy within the environment to dominate their foes. This was how someone like Eva, who had the reserves of a talented academy graduate, became known as the 'most powerful mage in the world'. She had such an extreme mastery over her elemental affinities, that, unless she was in a sticky situation, she never had to rely on her own magical energy to cast spells.With her surroundings adequately frozen, a state that would persist upwards of two weeks, Fenrir gave herself a nod of approval before raising her nose slightly and sniffing the air. She had already defeated more than a dozen 'territorial kings', monsters who had established themselves within a known hunting grounds, but, ever the overachiever, Fenrir was determined to continue thinning the native monster population until sunrise...---Unaware of the fact that his most faithful companion was going more than a little overboard, Vahn reclined against the headboard of his bed with a casual smile on his face. Sitting in his lap, or, more accurately, laying against his body, an adorable little girl wearing koala-themed animal pajamas was flipping through the pages of a shoujo battle manga. This was was the compromise she had agreed to in order to be able to continue lying against his body, and, though it was far from the most ideal outcome, Vahn couldn't deny he had a weakness against 'animal jammies'. The fact they were hand made by him, turning them into an A-Rank magical artifact, only exacerbated the matter, as, due to his propensity to overdo things, Vahn had given them a peculiar squishy and soft quality.Fortunately, once she got into a story, Asuna stopped paying attention to virtually everything else. As a result, Vahn was able to relax comfortably, his hands loosely stacked atop her abdomen as the majority of his focus was split between his other vessels. He was trying to see if he could control the Little Garden externally, and, though he was unable to enter it, for the time being, that didn't stop him from testing its capabilities.After spending so much time with Da Vinci, Vahn's natural curiosity had been fully converted into a contemplative nature powered by intrigue. New things always excited him, and, though he relied on Da Vinci to help him figure out various things, he couldn't help but attempt to analyze and reverse engineer everything he got his hands on. This was especially true for anything related to Space and Time, as, despite his status as a God in both categories, Vahn was often left surprised by the myriad number of ways in which the two Laws could manifest.From what he could ascertain, the Little Garden wasn't all that different from a Space-Time Orb, but, rather than transport just the spirit, it readily accommodated physical objects. If not for his ability to manifest solid objects in both spiritual and virtual space, Vahn, like many others, would have argued that this was impossible. The amount of energy it took to transform a spiritual object into a physical one, and vice versa, was truly phenomenal, and, without meeting certain conditions, the stability of such objects was questionable, at best.Vahn was very curious about how the Little Garden was able to freely accommodate this transition, but, compared to the tiny blue sphere's most notable trait, this was negligible. After all, it required a considerable amount of energy, often drawing from the planet itself, to maintain a Sub-Space Orb without compromising its interior structure. Since the Little Garden functioned like a Sub-Space Orb with the properties of a Space-Time Orb, it should take a tremendous amount of energy to sustain itself. Instead, Vahn felt virtually no drain, and, rather than pulling from the environment, the Little Garden seemed to be able to sustain itself using the energy produced within its interior...Creating a Sub-Space Orb that was powered by its own output was the penultimate dream of any Mage dabbling in Spatial Laws, and, even though he was a God, Vahn had no idea how to pull off such a feat. He could probably manage it while he was inside of the orb, but, the moment he came out, it was bound to collapse almost instantaneously. There needed to be an exterior stabilizing element to ensure the integrity of the interior space, or, like a compromised pressure container, it would literally explode or collapse depending on numerous variables.Since it was capable of doing something he, as a God of Space, Time, and Creation was unable to emulate, Vahn was 'very' interested in the Little Garden's structure. If he could understand how it functioned, it would be possible to create copies that could be used for a variety of purposes. He could even create versions with different biomes, as, despite the overwhelming vitality contained within the current garden, it wasn't exactly suitable for cultivating all types of flora and fauna.Unfortunately, at least for the time being, Vahn was unable to influence the Little Garden from the outside, and, after dropping in his Realm to conduct a field test, he was able to confirm that it was 'linked' to the current Record. He was able to manifest it within the Realm, but, the moment he tried to put an object inside, it turned to dust in an instant. The only exceptions to this were objects that had been purchased form the system shop, but, as that had always been the case, Vahn wasn't too surprised.Fortunately, during the brief five days spent within the Realm, Vahn had been able to test a number of things within the Little Garden. The most important discovery was the realization that, while there was no way to move objects from the Realm into the Little Garden, he could still exercise his power as an Overseer within its confines. As a result, he was able to freely modify the interior, and, though his powers as a Creator were limited, he was able to purchase various seeds and plant life to fill the Little Garden to the brim with life. He also adjusted the flow of time to grow more powerful as you moved towards the edges of the garden, making the interior island flow at a rate of ten times while the exterior ring was a whopping 700x.The fact he could freely alter the structure of the Little Garden using his power as an Overseer had practically turned Vahn into a giddy child for the duration of his stay. He had even planted a total of thirty-nine World Trees within, their 'cores' serving as the anchors that supported the drastic change in Space-Time that existed between the interior island and external ring. World Trees were easily the most powerful stabilizer Vahn had ever come across, and, though it was more than a little excessive to use them to power a formation, the fact they only cost him 195 million of his twenty-three billion OP made it seem reasonable.Vahn had stockpiled an extreme amount of OP, and, though he wasn't earning much in the present, he was certain there were be opportunities to stockpile even more in the future. He wanted to have at least thirty-billion by the time he entered the next Record. This might seem a little ridiculous, but, with the next Record potentially serving as the foundation for his own, Vahn wanted to make ensure he was adequately prepared. Even then, he couldn't be sure this was enough, as, if he modified the search parameters, there was literally an infinite number of items that greatly exceeded thirty-billion in cost. Fortunately, having anticipated his Origin Points running out at some point, Vahn had been stockpiling gacha coupons and upgrade stones in preparation. Since the gacha items and rarity was scaled to the level of the Record, there was a chance he would get monstrously powerful items with just a few gacha rolls, so, while he wasn't exactly in a rush, Vahn was already looking forward to his journey through the next Record...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'All are Prey before the Huntress' Mighty Maw','Vahn over here playing Minecraft with creative mode turned on...','The God of Whales')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Located more than a hundred-million-kilometers away, far removed from the chaotic tide sweeping across Mundus Magicus, a fashionable young girl in her early teens could be seen walking amongst the crowded streets of Tokyo. Her presence drew a substantial amount of attention, as, despite the rampant growth of Otaku culture in the 1980s, it was still exceptionally rare to see a western beauty walking around with a gothic-style dress and parasol.Feeling emboldened by the fact the young girl was alone, a group of teens, consisting of five older boys in greaser attire and two much younger girls with dyed-blonde hair decided to call out to the girl in their native tongue. They assumed she was either the daughter of a family touring Tokyo, or, based on her choice of garb, the bratty child of some business mogul. Either way, she seemed like an easy target, and, after successfully corrupting a few middle and high school girls using methods such as blackmail and threats of violence, the boys, tentative members of the local Yakuza, had a lot of confidence in themselves.After tossing aside a half-smoked cigarette, the oldest member of the group, a boy with a 'stylish' pompadour that was dyed pitch black adopted a wolfish grin as he called out, "Hey, hey, where is this Ojou-sama off to without an escort? Did you lose your parents or something?"Finding his colleague's words amusing, one of the younger members of the group, his slicked-back hair dyed a sickly shade of blond, snickered before adding, "Maybe we should teach her on behalf of her parents. Who knows, she might even start calling us 'Daddy' if we educate her properly!"Following the duo's words, the other members of the group burst into laughter as the walked over, casually encircling the girl while glowering at anyone nearby. This caused the majority of people to simply look away, as, even if they successfully intervened, they would just end up causing problems for themselves. Nobody wanted to be identified as 'nosy' by prospective members of the Yakuza as it was the same as inviting them to track you down at home or work to make an example of you.Seeing everyone turn their attention away, some even going so far as to cover their faces with their briefcases, the young girl just shook her head, a tired sigh escaping her lips. Despite this, she didn't seem even remotely troubled by the fact there was a group encircling her, a bored look on her face as she stared back at the oldest in the group and asked in fluent Japanese, "Do you know where the Minato Church of Christ is located? If you answer honestly, I will do my best to avoid crippling you completely."Though they were more than a little surprised by the girl's fluent Japanese, it was the context of her words that got the biggest reaction out of the group. It didn't take a genius to understand she was threatening them, so, with a vicious look on his face, the oldest boy in the group attempted to walk within centimeters of the young girl so that he could tower over her. The moment he took a single step forward, however, an excruciating pain radiated from his lower body as the only feeling in his legs was absolute agony.Noticing their 'leader' collapse, his hands covering a bloody groin, the other four boys attempted to charge the girl, two aiming for her wrists, one aiming for her hair, and the last pulling out an ornate switchblade to try and intimidate her. Unfortunately for each of them, their only reward was suffering the same fate as their first comrade, incomprehensible pain radiating through their bodies as they collapsed on the ground, writing about with both hands covering their crotches.Seeing the boys taken down in an instant, one of the girls released a high-pitched scream as she fell onto her butt. The other, seemingly forgetting they were the ones attempting to take advantage of the girl, looked to the surroundings for help only to find the streets had suddenly become empty. It was like the entire city had become a ghost town in an instant, and, by the time she looked back to the golden-haired beauty she had previously pitied and resented, the temperature had dropped to well below freezing.Staring back at the Japanese schoolgirl who, going by appearances, was either in her final year of middle-school or first year of high-school, the golden-haired beauty, Eva, stated, "Even if you were forced into your current position, taking pleasure in the misery of others makes you no better than these mongrels. Though it would have caused you greater pain, it is always better to resist tyranny and die with dignity than it is to abandon your principles and side with the people who used you..."Hearing the foreigner's words, the Japanese schoolgirl felt a considerable amount of resentment swell up inside of her, tears building in her eyes as she replied, "You don't know anything...you are probably just some brat that never had to work a day in her life! What do you know of the misery and pain we had to go through, you, you bitch!?"Immediately following her outburst, the young woman felt a sickly feeling in her stomach as a sharp pain radiated from both her neck and cheek. The world around her spun a few times before she lost her balance, dropping to the ground with a bloodied nose, a blackened eye, and a severely swollen cheek. It felt like all of her thoughts had been slapped out of her, and, for several seconds, the only thing her mind was capable of processing was a dulling pain as her body went into a state of shock.Without sparing the girl another glance, Eva turned her attention to the one who had screamed out like a banshee. She was even worse than the former, as, unlike her, the latter seemed to have some kind of relationship with the oldest boy in the group. Eva was very sensitive to negative energy and was even able to read their minds to an extent so she knew the older of the two girls helped to lure in and blackmail others. She had even been responsible for the bloodied girl falling into the group's hands, inviting her out to karaoke only to have her raped by several men after drugging her drink.Though Eva pitied the victimized girl's situation, she had no compassion for people who used their suffering as an excuse to revel in the misery of others. Trying to make yourself feel better by ruining the lives of others made you no better than the people who had abused you. It didn't matter what your justification was, as, the moment you began proactively contributing to the suffering of others, you were just as guilty.Feeling more than a little disgusted at the current situation, Eva manifested a stake of ice to nail the wailing girl's hand to the ground. This finally caught the girl's attention, an ear-piercing yowl of pain escaping her throat before she looked back at Eva, her eyes filled with fear, panic, and hatred as she shouted, "Why are you doing this to us!? We didn't even do anything to you! We were just messing with you!"Ignoring the girl's words, Eva pulled her up by the hair, earning another pained shriek from the girl who attempted to frantically kick and thrash about. She had become completely delirium from the pain, and, feeling as if her life was on the line, adrenaline began to surge through her body as she attempted to break free from Eva's grasp. Unfortunately, the only thing she got for her troubles was being tossed unceremoniously by the hair, her body landing hard on the asphalt and forcing the air from her lungs.The more Eva learned about the girl, the stronger her desire to kill both her and the group of boys slowly bleeding out. This was one of the reasons she chose to live far away from population zones, as, even without her Magia Erebea, her sensitivity towards negative energy and darkness was simply too high. As for why she didn't just trap them in an illusion, like many others who had attempted to approach her, it was because she sensed a 'familiar' presence within the girl that immediately drew her attention.After remaining motionless on the ground for several seconds, the beaten and bruised girls' body started to swell slightly as palpable darkness began to emanate from her body. Her skin, which had previously been covered in a false tan, began flaking away to reveal an unnatural grey, and, after a few more seconds had passed, even the color of her hair began to fade into sickly white.Seeing the transformation, Eva just snorted through her nose before lifting her left hand and asking, "Tell me, Ghoul. Where is your Master?"Rather than answer the question, the now monstrous-looking schoolgirl raised her head to reveal a pair of blood-red eyes, claws protruding from her fingers as she shouted, "I'm going to devour your flesh you fucking-"Without waiting for the creature's expletives, Eva froze her entire body in an ice pillar before pulling out a compass similar to the one Vahn had gifted the young Naomi. It was able to point toward the direction of whatever its user desired, but, for a variety of reasons, Eva had always struggled to use it properly. In this situation, however, the arrow firmly pointed towards downtown Tokyo for a few seconds before shifting away moments later as Eva muttered, "I don't have the time to go hunting false Vampires..."With most of Japan falling under the jurisdiction of the Kansai Magic Association, a group that had proactively hunted her in the past, Eva didn't really feel like doing their job for them. She also knew it was futile to try and eliminate all evil in the world, so, after briefly considering whether or not she should follow up on her urge to kill the scoundrel converting schoolgirls into Ghouls, Eva eventually just shook her head and walked away. The most she would do is send a tip to the Association, as, in the end, it was their ultimately their responsibility to deal with such things...---Following Eva's departure, the bodies of the six remaining teens seemed to spontaneously manifest in the middle of the heavily populated throughway. This startled a number of people, causing a few other school-age girls to release ear-piercing screams while others began to form a crowd. Notably, none of the pedestrians tried to offer any assistance to the injured teens, many choosing to observe while only a few had the wherewithal to call the police and an ambulance.Due to the garb of the youths, none of the people present wanted to get involved, so, while a few had thought to help the sobbing woman, the fact nobody else tried to help prevented others from stepping in. It wasn't until a group resembling Shinto priests arrived that the group crowd began to disperse, seemingly as if the incident had no impact on their lives. They didn't even question where the group of priests had come from, and, by the time the police actually arrived, there were no on-site witnesses to give an account of what had happened...---Though the compass ended up leading her all over the place, Eva eventually found herself, not at a temple, but outside of a four-story residence. It had a rather spartan exterior, common for buildings within the city, but, even at a glance, it was easy to tell the residence was rather high end. Not only was it built from more expensive materials, but, due to its location on the outskirts of a region that was occupied by literal mansions, the cost of rent had to be around ¥100,000-150,000 per month.After staring up at the building for several minutes, Eva extended her hand towards the entrance as a magical barrier, invisible to most, manifested beneath her palm. Unlike a normal barrier, however, the runes comprising the spell circle were written in ancient Aramaic, and, most notably, the used a symbol resembling a crucifix in lieu of a standard geometric ward. This was generally thought to be impossible, as, for a variety of reasons, magic was simply incompatible with anything even remotely resembling Christian symbology.Seeing the familiar magic circle, a reminiscent smile spread across Eva's face as she pushed through the barrier without any resistance. The owner of the building was currently absent, but, after feeling someone pass through the barrier, they were bound to return posthaste. Until then, Eva decided to make herself comfortable, trespassing the master bedroom without any hesitation before entering the walk-in closet to see what kind of clothing her former companion had become accustomed to...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Ah, the 80s...what a time to be alive...','Ain't nobody got time fo dat','"Oh? Is this a Maid outfit I spy~?")https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

After a fortunately uneventful bath, Vahn was helping brush Asuna's inordinately long hair while telling her about some of the events that had transpired within the Realm. She was well aware of the fact that it would one day become her home, and, even if he tried to keep it secret, she could always tell when he had just returned from a visit. Thus, in order to satiate her seemingly endless curiosity, even just a little, Vahn talked about his time within the Realm and even showed her a few of his more interesting memories.Seeing fantastical scenes of Vahn walking on the surface of stars, battling against mountain-sized dragons, and even rearranging the night sky at his whim always caused Asuna's eyes to shimmer with intrigue. It was one of her favorite pastimes, and, though she was becoming increasingly aware of her own body, she enjoyed having Vahn pamper her while wearing nothing but a camisole and a pair of animal print panties.Though she was still experimenting with her style, Asuna had committed to trying to establish a 'gap' in her appearance. She liked to dress in 'cool' and 'serious' clothes whenever she was outside, but, whenever they were in private, her default was to wear cute and slightly childish clothing. They were far more comfortable than other kinds of clothing, and, though he didn't see her as a woman just yet, Asuna enjoyed the giddy feeling she got whenever she walked around in with nothing but a top and her panties on. As for why she decided to wear panties with a print, she knew Vahn was very perceptive, so, even if he didn't proactively look, it was impossible for him not to take notice...Asuna had come to realize that one of the caveats to having abnormally high perception was that your eyes were generally drawn to small and otherwise overlooked things. In her case, she actually found it easier to remember things like the designs of a person's buttons or the pattern sewn into their clothing than the people themselves. This was in spite of her having a very high perception, to the point of being able to recall the number of eyelashes a person possessed but not their name.Since she had viewed his memories thousands of times, Asuna knew Vahn perceived the world in a way that others would struggle to even comprehend. There were very few things that escaped his notice, and, if she reviewed memories related to her, it always brought an amused smile to her face whenever she noticed even the thread count of her panties and the pores of her skin were visible in high definition. It didn't matter that Vahn wasn't really looking at her the way she wanted him to, as, regardless of his intentions, he knew her body and its dimensions better than anyone...With that thought in mind, a smile spread across Asuna's face as she tilted her head back, hitting Vahn's stomach as she looked up at him and asked, "What do you want to do next? I don't really feel like watching a replay of my battle right now and I can tell you are tired. Since it is just the two of us right now, why don't we lay in bed the rest of the day and just read manga...?"Though he knew Asuna just wanted to cuddle with him while Fenrir was away, Vahn also wasn't in the mood to do anything due to his mental fatigue. Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, he returned a smile and answered, "Sure. Before we head up, however, you'll need to wear something more appropriate. Don't think I'm unaware of you're little scheme..."Hearing Vahn's words, Asuna felt her pulse quicken, but, by using her Ki to limit the flow of blood to her face, she was able to prevent a blush from coloring her cheeks. Instead, she adopted a confused expression as brought her arms closer to her body, marginally increasing the gap between her neck and the camisole's fabric. If a normal person were to tilt their head just a bit, they would be allowed a full view of her burgeoning assets, but, as if she was unaware of this face, Asuna asked, "Why do I need to change? You've already seen me naked like...six-thousand-nine-hundred-and-seventy-two times..."Showing a comparable amount of control over his own facial expressions, Vahn just continued to stare into Asuna's eyes as Sis stated, (*It seems like she is accounting for all the times she has been naked within your domain, knowing you always had her in your perception. Clever girl.*)Realizing he was being cornered by a twelve-year-old, Vahn could only suppress a sigh as he shook his head in mild exasperation. This was the downside to being mentally and spiritually drained as it put him into a state where he really didn't feel like arguing with people. There was also the simple fact that her words were the truth, and, prior to her abrupt kiss, he had never regarded her antics as anything more than curiosity and experimentation...As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn recalled all the times he had been roped into doing things he probably shouldn't have back in the Nasuverse. The most prominent example was the time when Mordred had orchestrated the events leading up to Mash's confession. He could have put a stop to the escalating events at any time, but, much like how he allowed Arika and Theo to gradually shave away at his defenses, Vahn always found it difficult to say no to the people he pampered...Undoubtedly as a result of his long silence, Asuna stopped pretending, her face showing a genuine expression of concern as she hesitantly asked, "Vahn...?"Hearing the demure utterance, Vahn blinked back to awareness, his expression softening slightly as he almost habitually leaned down to give the concerned girl a kiss. Fortunately, he realized what he was doing before he could complete the action, changing trajectory to kiss Asuna's forehead before smiling as he said, "I am unable to argue against your point. However, now that you are in the midst of blossoming into a woman, I have to be more strict with you. I understand you have a lot of urges and curiosities...these are perfectly natural. When you get a bit older, I'll be sure to help you address all of these things...for now, it would put my mind at ease if you focused on something other than trying to circumvent my sensibilities..."To punctuate his words, Vahn gently embraced Asuna's body, holding her close for a few seconds before letting her go and stroking her head. She became very quiet in the wake of his words, and, though there was conflict in her eyes, the most noticeable emotion visible in her countenance was guilt. This, in turn, made Vahn feel a little guilty, but, knowing Asuna was slowly descending into a very precocious phase of her life, he wanted to avoid things getting out of hand as they had many times before.Feeling calm and comfortable energy flowing into her mind, Asuna quickly recovered from her brief moment of reflection, an expression similar to a contented cat replacing her previous melancholy.After thinking about it, Asuna realized she had been pressuring Vahn quite a bit ever since Eva and the rest had departed. Her battle with Nagi only exacerbated the anxiety she had been feeling as of late, so, after her previous 'confession', her mind had been racing to come up with ways she could appeal to the boy she liked. She even felt giddy thinking about joining him in the bath, and, though this had been the case for a long time, Asuna knew she wasn't behaving normally at all...Remembering the 'guidance' her Mother had given her, combined with the fact she already had her first period more than a year ago, Asuna knew the principal cause for her behavior was the fact she was going through puberty. She had thought the effects wouldn't really influence her decisions that much, but, now that she thought back to the last few months, Asuna realized she had been actively pushing the other girls to leave so she could keep Vahn to herself...As realization dawned upon her, Asuna felt a considerable amount of guilt, but, rather than show it on her face, she continued to squint her eyes slightly as the comfortable energy from Vahn's hand seemed to wash over her, cleaning the impurities in her body and mind. Then, after calming herself down and organizing her somewhat chaotic thoughts, Asuna opened her eyes fully, a radiant smile spreading across her face as she stated, "I'll put on some pants."Having sensed the various changes occurring in Asuna's mental state, Vahn couldn't help but lightly chuckle in response to her words. He didn't actually blame her for how she had been behaving, as it was pretty normal for someone of her age. Still, that didn't mean he could just let her get away with everything, as, without any restrictions, Asuna's 'condition' would only grow worse with the passage of time. The last thing he needed was a deliberate repeat of the incident that had happened nearly a year prior, where, in an attempt to surprise him, Asuna used the State of Nothingness to sink into the ground while he was washing Eva's hair.Though Vahn was generally able to sense Asuna's presence, he tried to humor her by momentarily shifting his attention elsewhere. As a result, he was equally as surprised as Asuna herself when she emerged from the ground with her face between his legs. She had intended to come up in front of Eva to try and startle her backward, but, missing her exit point several centimeters, Asuna emerged to find herself face-to-face with something she had only stolen glances at previously.If it was just looking, it wouldn't have been much of a problem, but, due to her surprise, Asuna was unable to maintain the State of Nothingness. As a result, for a very brief moment, her body became solid, trapped from the neck down with her face less than two centimeters away from a place where she had no business being. From that moment on, she became overly conscious of being anywhere near his front side, often choosing to remain behind him until it was time to wash her hair.Vahn had done his best to disregard the incident at the time, asking Eva, Theo, and Arika to do the same, but, as the principal offender, Asuna hadn't forgotten. It was an incident firmly cemented in her mind, and, ever since then, her intrigue regarding a certain part of his body had been growing a little too quickly. She had even transitioned from snuggling up at his side to habitually sitting in his lap and outright reclining against his body while she read books. In fact, she looked for a number of excuses to sit in his lap, and, shortly after the initial incident, she 'spontaneously' developed a habit of walking around in her panties.When Eva, Arika, and Theo had been present, it wasn't such a big deal since Asuna tried to behave whenever they were around. She was also sensitive to being teased, so, whenever they noticed she was being 'mischievous', the other girls would immediately call her out, quickly coming Asuna into a swift retreat. Now, however, the only thing to prevent Asuna from getting out of hand was Vahn himself, as, due to her 'unique' perspective on things, Fenrir was generally okay with everything so long as it didn't cause him genuine stress.Hearing Asuna readily acquiesce, Vahn felt like he had avoided the worst-case scenario, a feeling of relief washing over him as he watched the young girl scamper away to grab something to cover her bottom. Unfortunately, when he reached the bedroom shortly thereafter, his smile promptly froze, as, demonstrating just how 'clever' she was, Asuna shimmied out of her panties before donning the thinnest silk pajamas she owned. Then, with the characteristic grin of someone who had completed a prank, Asuna turned around to face him, asking, "Anything else~?" with a twinkle in her eye.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Clever girl...','The bathroom incident','I would say she never learns but I fear she is actually learning too quickly...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 1657: Eager