Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Vahn found his footing before he looked at Lefiya, who had still been staring at him with her accusatory look. Seeing her expression, Vahn felt like something in the back of his mind was sinking and he thought anything he might say would just sound like an excuse. "Sorry...I just don't like to see people sad." Lefiya's expression softened a bit at his words, but it wasn't long before her brows furrowed again."So why is it that all the people you try to 'comfort' happen to be girls? I'm sure there are plenty of men and women in the rest of the group that could use your 'support'." Lefiya emphasized the important words as she continued to stare at his flustered appearance. Vahn was actually considering her words, and turning his head, he was able to see a number of people that were also worried or scared.Vahn noticed that Lefiya wasn't entirely wrong in her claim, and he had actually been focusing more on the characters he knew from the story instead of the entire group as a whole. Realizing his 'mistake', Vahn frowned and began channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] into his domain with his maximum effort. A gentle, almost imperceptible white aura began to permeate throughout the corridor. The adventurers behind felt all of their stamina recovering, as the dark shadows that had begun to creep their way into their hearts were diffused by the warm energy.Lefiya noticed Vahn's actions and sighed even deeper than she did previously. In a quiet voice, she muttered in a manner that even Vahn wasn't able to hear. "I see, you're just an idiot..." Lefiya thought Vahn was the type to just mislead and chase after women, but recalling all the experiences she had with him up till this point, she realized he was just ignorant regarding a lot of things. He seemed completely devoid of a lot of the common-sense possessed by normal people. Even she, who had grown up in a somewhat sheltered environment, had more awareness than he did.Lefiya felt like, in a lot of ways, Vahn was just a child. Even when he had entered the bath with them earlier, he seemed to be completely immune to the presence of naked women around him. It wasn't until Tiona kissed him afterward that he began to question his actions. She began to wonder what kind of life a person would have to live to be so devoid of common social skills. In a way, she even began to feel pity for Vahn...she felt like, if someone had tried to take advantage of his apparent kindness, he would have suffered a lot if he hadn't met Tiona and Ais first.Vahn continued channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] until the group arrived at their setup location. They could hear the sounds of fighting nearby, and the reverberations of the powerful attacks were shaking the very dungeon itself. The party split into small groups and began forming a concave formation surrounding the corridor that the 'vanguard' would be pulling the Juggernaut through. Tensions began to rise as everyone prepared various long-range weapons and defensive spells.Vahn was assigned the role of acting as a support unit, so he was at the back of the group with Lefiya and Riveria. Tione and Tiona waited at the flanks near the corridor's entrance and were preparing to blindside the Juggernaut the moment it entered the room. Riveria began chanting a powerful one-way defensive magic that would be able to protect the party while still allowing them to attack. She then began chanting various area-of-effect buffs while targeting the various adventurers in the group.Lefiya, who was also supposed to be using support magic, looked toward Vahn before she performed her duties. "Vahn, no matter what, make sure you survive. Not just here, but no matter what happens in the future." Lefiya, like Tiona, believed that Vahn had the makings of a hero. His naive personality, combined with his desire to grow stronger and protect others, meant that, as long as he was able to survive, he would likely save countless lives in the future. Even if his relationship with Ais bothered her, she didn't want him to die just because he was currently weak.Vahn gave a bright smile toward Lefiya as his form rapidly changed into that of his Báihǔ transformation. "Thank you Lefiya. I promise I will survive." Vahn then pulled out his bow and knocked a mithril arrow onto the string. Lefiya was a bit surprised seeing his transformation up close, even though she had seen it during his previous fight. The transformation seemed to enhance his features a bit and gave him a 'wild' aura and a confident demeanor. It was almost like, with his physical transformation, his mentality also underwent a drastic change."Lefiya, I need your help with the preparations. We are short on time." Riveria was slowly beginning to become annoyed with how Vahn seemed to distract all the girls in the party since his arrival. She agreed that he had some fascinating aspects to him, but she didn't expect him to so drastically influence 'experienced' adventurers. She felt like, if she hadn't said anything, she would have had to buff the entire party on her own while Lefiya just stared toward Vahn.Lefiya jumped after hearing the cold words of Riveria. She began to quickly cast her buff magic on the groups starting from the left, the opposite side of where Riveria had started. Within a few minutes, everyone was ready and the shaking of the dungeon grew in intensity. At this point, the 'ambush' party could feel the individual explosions of the attacks and the powerful impacts that resulted from the collisions.A few moments later, Ais exited from the corridor, and everyone could see she was slightly covered in blood with a few bruises. Vahn, seeing her state, almost ran out to help her, but Riveria shouted, "Wait, Vahn. Stick to the plan or you'll only make things worse!" Riveria's command was sharp, and the words seemed to cut straight into him, making Vahn unable to move forward. Moments after Ais's appearance, Bete and Finn also exited the corridor in a somewhat worse-for-wear state.Finn was marginally less injured, and he immediately shouted out to the 'ambush' party, "Prepare yourselves!" After his shout, Finn spun around and held his spear low to the ground while waiting for the thundering creature to make its appearance. Bete and Ais retreated and began applying potions to their wounds so they could rejoin the fight. After another twenty seconds, a somewhat small figure came launching out of corridor at a fast speed. Sliding about 15m, Vahn recognized the figure as Gareth, who was in a much worse state than everyone that previously appeared.Almost immediately after Gareth was launched into the room, an incredibly fast moving monster emerged from the corridor. Vahn immediately recognized it as the 10m long, skeletal, Juggernaut. Like before, it was missing half of its face, and it now seemed to be covered in a variety of other wounds. The atmosphere in the room became intense in an instant as the two amazon sisters immediately attack from the sides of the creature.Tiona, wielding her massive Urga, landed a powerful blow into the torso of the Juggernaut, while her sister, Tione, tried to sever ones of its seemingly frail-looking limbs. Unfortunately, almost as if to make a mockery of the fierce attacks, Tione's daggers barely left a scratch on the thin arms, while Tiona's Urga only knocked the Juggernaut into the ground while leaving a small crack on its shell.Finn tried to use the moment when it was pressed to the ground to impale its head with his spear, but the blade only penetrated a few inches before the Juggernaut flailed and sent him flying with its spinning motion. Using its incredible speed, the Juggernaut tried to attack toward the nearby Tiona, but it was awarded for its efforts by a powerful body slam by Gareth. Though he hadn't fully recovered yet, Gareth wasn't the type to stand by and watch his companions get injured.The Juggernaut sent Gareth flying as Tiona opened up the distance and tried to lose it's aggro. At this point, there was nobody around the Juggernaut, so a barrage of attacks from the 'ambush' party came raining in on it. Though they were predominately ineffective, there were a few lucky attacks that managed to leave light wounds on the creature. Vahn had also loosed an arrow toward the remaining eye of the Juggernaut, but there seemed to be a strange force preventing it from penetrating the eye-socket.Screaming in rage, the Juggernaut released a powerful aura that knocked many of the projectiles from the sky. Almost as if had realized something in the attack, the Juggernaut turned its gaze before leaning forward in a crouching position. The arrow that had almost penetrated its eye reminded it of a previous encounter, and it turned towards the source and saw the enemy that had escaped it previously. A hazy steam began to build up around the Juggernaut as it began to enter a berserker state.At the end of its vision, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had been gripped by an imaginary force. The moment his arrow had landed, it was almost like the Juggernaut had locked onto him amongst all the adventurers present. He could see a seething hatred in its eye as his instincts began ringing alarms in his head. Vahn's pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes as the figure of the Juggernaut began accelerating toward him in slow motion.Unfortunately, no matter how slow the Juggernaut seemed to be moving, Vahn's body didn't seem to be listening to him. He stood there in the motion of just have loosed an arrow as the Juggernauts figure began to approach. All the sounds in the area seemed to become muted as the colors started fading from the vision he was seeing. The only thought passing through Vahn's mind was that of his impending death.As the enraged Juggernaut lurched forward to attack, it slammed heavily into the shield Riveria had formed to protect the 'ambush' party. She began to frown as she continued channeling her mana to sustain the shield. Finn, who had seen the strange actions of the Juggernaut, was incredibly confused by the turn of events. Though monsters sometimes displayed intelligence, Finn had never seen one completely ignore the people close to it and try to eliminate the weaker opponents first.Jumping to attack the enraged creature, Finn tried to follow its gaze and noticed that it seemed entirely focused on Vahn who was standing behind the rest of the party with Riveria and Lefiya. Finn thought, ("Could the Juggernaut remember Vahn having escaped its grasp previously? But, even if that was the case, there is no reason for it to act in such a ferocious manner..."). Suddenly, Finn remembered the green arrow that had collided against the shadowy substance of the Juggernaut's eye. Seeing the bow in Vahn's hand, Finn realized it must have become enraged after nearly losing its only remaining eye.Seeing the Juggernaut smash into the shield, Vahn was finally broken from the spell he was under. The moment of his demise that he had anticipated never came, and now he was able to see the Juggernaut smashing its claws into the shield in a rage. Finn, Tiona, Tione, Gareth, and Ais all began attacking its exposed back with heavy attacks. However, the Juggernaut just flailed and pushed them away with its arms and legs as it continued trying to destroy the barrier. The only thing on its feeble mind was destroying the accursed boy that had destroyed half of its face.Riveria's shield began showing cracks, but Lefiya began chanting a spell that enforced its structure. Every time new cracks would appear, they would rapidly heal which caused the Juggernaut to rage even more. Vahn, believing the barrier may not hold, repositioned himself behind Lefiya and Riveria and placed his palms on their backs. Though they were curious about his actions, they couldn't interrupt their chanting to question him. However, their concerns were soon blown away when they felt a powerful energy seeping into their bodies. Their diminishing mana reserves were rapidly restoring at a rate faster than they were being consumed.Instead of focusing on inputting the energy into his domain, Vahn imbued the entirety of his energy into his [Hands of Nirvana] with the support of his [Yggdrasil's Blessing]. He was converting his pure 'source' energy into mana, and it was easily able to replenish the mana stores of the two girls. The barrier that had been struggling to maintain itself now became solid and even glowed more brightly than it previously had.Seeing the barrier restored, the tensions in the room exploded as everyone began to shout out with loud war cries. The ambush party began focusing their attacks on the damaged areas of the Juggernaut as the Level 5-6 members continued to land heavy blows on the creatures frame. Slowly but surely, the Juggernauts actions began to slow as blood was dripping from the wounds all over its body. In its last moments of life, just as Finn channeled his strongest attack in a leaping lunge toward its core, the Juggernaut stared at Vahn with a hate-filled expression.Vahn felt a mental attack hit his mind as a powerful and corrosive energy tried to destroy his brain. His [Will of the Emperor] immediately exploded and resisted the attack, but Vahn still took a heavy amount of damage. A nauseous filling immediately overwhelmed him and it seemed like all the energy was draining from his body. Falling between the gap of the two elves, Vahn made contact with the ground at the exact same time as the Juggernaut did.The two stared at each other one last time before both falling into different forms of unconsciousness. Before Vahn completely blacked out, he mouthed the words that he had used to previously part with the Juggernaut. 'Fuck you'

Vahn felt a heaviness in his body as a deep throbbing pain was emitting from his head. He felt like his skull had been cracked open and his brain had turned to mush. Unable to form any thoughts, he just allowed the pain to encompass his entire being, almost to the point he was unable to distinguish between where the pain began and where it ended. He felt like the pain stretched out endlessly, and it was almost as though his body was infinitely expanding along with it to allow for more pain to fill him.Suddenly, from a place deep within, a cooling sensation began to build from a minuscule point at the very center of the seemingly endless pain. It began to expand, almost as if it was trying to erase the pain from existence, but no matter how quickly it spread out, it was always slower than the pace of the pain itself. Vahn felt like his soul was beginning to tear apart by the duality of the two contrasting feelings. One filled him with energy and life, while the other seemed determined to destroy everything and erase it from existence.Vahn tried focusing on the 'cool' sensation and tried to tear his mind away from the pain that had wracked his body for what felt like an eternity. He could feel his consciousness accelerating toward the center of the sensation, but no matter how fast he thought he was moving, he never seemed to get any closer. A fear began to grip his mind as Vahn felt, if he was unable to reach the center, he would lose himself entirely.Suddenly, along with the cool sensation, Vahn was also able to feel a soft and warm sensation that seemed to surround the entire space. What previously seemed like an infinitely expanding void, now seemed to be much smaller as the warmth quickly spread through his mind and banished the pain. The cooling sensation, no longer suppressed by the pain, now spread out at a speed faster than perception itself. Before an instant had passed, the cooling sensation encompassed Vahn's entirety as he began to feel at ease.No longer wracked by the pain, Vahn began to enjoy the feeling of warmth that was spreading from an unseen area outside of this strange space. It felt gentle, kind, and full of things that Vahn couldn't quite describe. All he knew is, the feeling made him feel very safe an secure, very similar to something he had lost long ago. Slowly, the cooling sensation began to recede, allowing for the warm feelings to replace the emptiness where Vahn currently resided.---Vahn opened his eyes and noticed he had difficulty seeing in the dim light coming from a source outside of his line of sight. Currently, the only thing he could see was the sleeping figure of a woman, resting against the bedside where he was currently located. Vahn's mind froze for a moment because he couldn't understand why the person he saw would be present. The last thing he remembered was staring into the eyes of the Juggernaut before spending what felt like an eternity lost in that painful black space.Feeling his movements, the figure woke up with a start and stared into Vahn's eyes with a surprised expression on her face. The two stared at each other for a few moments before the woman, Hephaestus, threw her arms around Vahn and began to embrace him in a powerful and emotion-filled hug. "Uuuuh, Vahn, you idiot! Don't scare me like that!" Hephaestus cried out in an aggrieved manner, and the pain-filled voice tore away at something in Vahn's heart.Without explanation, tears began falling from Vahn's eyes as he returned the embrace of the crying Hephaestus. Feeling the warmth coming from her body, Vahn realized the thing that had brought him away from that painful darkness had been her embrace. He didn't know how long he was unconscious, but he felt a great deal of time had passed. Without her gentle warmth, Vahn wasn't sure he would have been able to come back from that abyss of pain and despair.For now, Vahn allowed Hephaestus to embrace him while he rubbed her back in an effort to return some of the comforts she had given him. He could hear her mumbling accusations and various curses about him under her breath, but Vahn just allowed her to express her emotions as she pleased. Eventually, just as she started to calm down, Vahn spoke, "Thank you Hephaestus...you saved me. I don't think I could have come back on my own."Hearing Vahn's words, Hephaestus put more strength into her embrace before pressing Vahn's head into her chest. "You stupid..." Hephaestus wanted to curse him again, but seeing the grateful expression and relief in his face, she couldn't find the words to berate him any longer. Instead, Hephaestus spoke gently, "You had me worried...Vahn. I'm glad you came back."Afterward, the two enjoyed each other embrace until one of the doctors had come by with a number of people in tow. "Oh? Finally awake, my goodness, you sure know how to sleep, kid." Vahn turned towards the voice and recognized the familia figure of Granny Marin. She was the same doctor that had treated his injuries when he collapsed outside of the dungeon previously. Behind her, there were five figures that looked toward Vahn with happy expressions after seeing him awake.Before Vahn could greet them, Lili and Naaza both rushed toward his beside while Ais, Tiona, and surprisingly, Lefiya approached in a more moderate manner. The two girls had tears in their eyes as they neared, especially Lili who literally jumped into Vahn's chest and began crying. Hephaestus, who had already had her time with Vahn, made way for the other girls before moving away to speak with Granny Marin.Lili was inconsolable as she cried into Vahn's chest. Even when he tried comforting her, she just nestled her face into his hospital gown and continued crying. Naaza took the seat that Hephaestus had left vacant as she stared at Vahn with a tear-stained face. Unlike Lili, she wasn't crying loudly, but her silent sobs made Vahn feel even worse than the small pallum on his chest.Vahn made eye contact with Tiona, Ais, and Lefiya and noticed they were acting more reserved than he expected. Noticing his confused expression, Tiona opened her mouth and explained. "The moment we brought you out of the dungeon, these two had been in a flurry after seeing your unconscious body. In the entire 9 days you were unconscious, they barely left your side."Hearing that he had been unconscious for nine days, Vahn was very surprised. The last-ditch efforts of the Juggernaut had done more damage than he expected, and it was very likely he had been on the verge of death at that time. Seeing the two crying girls that he had parted ways with previously in a confident manner, Vahn felt a terrible feeling in his heart. Placing his hand on both of their heads, Vahn muttered in a low voice, "I'm sorry...Lili...Naaza. I didn't mean to worry you.""It wasn't just the two of them that were worried, ya know~? Ais and Lefiya have been down in the dumps all weeks after you failed to wake up." Vahn stared toward Ais and Lefiya, and he could see a sad look in Ais's eyes. She looked directly at Vahn and said, "I'm glad you woke up. I was worried." Ais didn't deny Tiona's claim at all, but Lefiya seemed somewhat hesitant as she said, "I'm also glad you are awake..."Vahn felt happy to have the two girls' care, but he was a bit confused by a matter and couldn't help but ask while looking at Tiona,"Were you not worried?" Tiona began to smile with all of her teeth showing as a passionate fervor filled her eyes, "No way~! The entire time you were asleep, I kept telling everyone you would wake up! There is no way a hero would be defeated in such a way, hahahahaha-ack!" Toward the end of her laugh, Tiona choked a bit and Vahn could see that, while she likely believed he would wake up, she was still worried about him.Vahn began to laugh out loud after seeing Tiona's gaffe, and the entire room seemed to go silent as he was unable to repress the emotions that had been building inside of him. Seeing so many people concerned about his well-being, Vahn felt incredibly happy and fulfilled. Tiona's actions had been the last straw and, even though he felt guilty for having worried them, he was unable to repress his happiness any longer.Everyone in the room stared at the boy who was both laughing and crying at the same time. Though he seemed unaware of it himself, Vahn was currently in tears as he widely smiled at everyone in the room. They could all feel the relief and happiness contained within his voice, and everyone present began to feel happy, chasing away all the negative feelings that had been present previously.---After everything had settled down, Vahn was required to give every girl a hug before Granny Marin shooed them all out of the ward. Even Lefiya gave Vahn a short hug before departing with the rest of the girls. Once everyone was gone, the only people left in the room were Granny Marin, Hephaestus, and Vahn. Hephaestus sat next to the bedside and grabbed Vahn's hand while Granny Marin began speaking."Kid, I honestly don't know how you're alive right now. After the Loki Familia brought you to me, I checked your condition and, by all rights, you should be dead. Your brain had suffered severe trauma and the liquid inside had increased to such an extent that, even if it didn't kill you, you should have been in a coma for the rest of your life." Granny Marin looked at Vahn like he was a corpse that had got up off the table and started parading around."For now, you'll need to take time off from adventuring for the foreseeable future. I would suggest you spend time recuperating to see if there are any sequelae that present themselves. If nothing happens within three months, you should be fine to head back into the dungeon. And don't try to sneak in either; I already informed all of the Guild Staff to bar your entrance, and if they catch you there will be consequences." Granny Marin had a firm tone to her voice, and Vahn didn't feel like there was any room for negotiation.From his side, Hephaestus had decided to speak up and piggyback the words of Granny Marins, "Don't worry, until I've confirmed with my own eyes that he is fit and healthy, I won't allow him to enter into the dungeon. Even if I have to lock him away inside my workshop for the entire three months." Hephaestus, much like Granny Marin, also spoke with a firm tone. Her words actually made Vahn a little scared but, seeing the concern in her eyes, he couldn't find it in himself to refute her.Vahn could see from his system that he was in perfect health, but he felt he owed it to everyone that had been concerned about him to rest for a while. He could always spend the time improving his blacksmithing skills and studying medicine with Naaza. Vahn hadn't made much time to explore the City, and this would be a good chance to do so while he was unable to enter the dungeon.Nodding his head, Vahn looked toward the two 'fierce' women and said, "I understand. I will take the next three months off to recover fully. I'm not in any particular rush to go back into the dungeon anyway." Granny Marin nodded at his response, while Hephaestus released a relieved sigh. She knew that, if Vahn wanted to, he would find a way to enter the dungeon somehow. Seeing him so cooperative, a lot of the feelings that had been stressing her out in the two weeks faded away.Hephaestus asked Granny Marin, "When can he go home?" The Doctor shook her head and nearly spat out the words, "Just take him. With my prognosis, he should have been in that bed for the rest of his life. He obviously has something special about him to bring him back from the brink. I'm not going to meddle in your Familia's secrets, just make sure to foot the bill properly." Granny Marin had quickly become paranoid about a patient like Vahn. It seemed like every time she saw him, it lead to a mess and an increase in the pressure she had to deal with.Hearing Granny Marin's 'consent', Hephaestus had a big smile on her face. Looking towards Vahn, she spoke her next words with more affection than she had ever mustered in all her millions of years of existence, "Let's go home, Vahn." Vahn noticed how happy Hephaestus was, and it felt like her mood had seeped into him from the point of contact in his hand. He nodded his head and returned her smile, "Let's go home."Title: Return(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sleepy Boi','A wild Hephaestus appears!','Surrounded by fire and flowers')

Though Vahn enjoyed walking alongside Ais (and Lefiya), it wasn't long before the happy atmosphere began to fade. By the time they had reached the stairs, even with Vahn's domain, the mood was beginning to turn grim. When they made it past the 'Wall of Grief', the site where Vahn had recently slain the Goliath, everyone had solemn expressions. However, after Vahn inspected them, he noticed they weren't expressions of helplessness, but conviction and determination.Due to the nature of the 17th floor, it eventually came time for Vahn to release Ais's hand or else it would be difficult traversing through the dungeon. The atmosphere had influenced him as well, and Vahn continued forward without speaking much. Along the way, there were a few monsters that spawned, but they were all instantly annihilated by the vanguard. Each successive kill seemed to increase the atmosphere a bit, so Vahn was thankful for the dungeons 'cooperation'.The group made fast progress through the 17th floor and arrived in the corridor before the stairs that led to the upper floors. Everyone began to break off into their assigned groups, so Vahn had to move ahead of the majority and stand amongst Tiona, Tione, and Riveria. Lefiya ended up joining as well, while Ais continued forward and joined the advance group. Seeing the small party of adventurers, Vahn felt slightly concerned. Ais was still just a very small girl and watching her join the team that was expected to draw the attention of the Juggernaut, Vahn couldn't help but feel worried.Vahn noticed that the sword Ais was carrying wasn't of a very high quality, even though the materials it was made of were very sturdy. Remembering that she seemed to destroy her weapons commonly in the manga, Vahn made his determination and ran up to the vanguard group. Seeing his approach, Finn frowned slightly before saying, "Vahn, I know you are strong, but it would be very difficult for you to fight against the Juggernaut. You should stay with the second group and provide support with your unique skills."Shaking his head, Vahn ignored Finn and walked up to Ais. Pulling out his tamahagane sword from his inventory, Vahn selected the gift function with Ais as the recipient. As he had just recently got her affection to 90, he was able to gift her a single item per month. "Ais, take this with you. It should be much stronger than your current sword." Seeing the concern in his eyes, Ais smiled and received the sword. She was shocked when she felt how light it was, so she gave it a few practice swings and was amazed at how easy the large blade was to handle.Finn also noticed the unique quality of the blade and asked if he could take a look at it. Vahn tried to stop him, but Ais had handed it over without thinking. The moment Finn's hand made contact with the handle, the blade jerked away and spun until it had stuck into the wall of the dungeon. Finn stared in shock at the display before he turned toward Vahn with a questioning look on his face. Vahn said plainly, "The items I have are made with a special technique, and they can only be used by myself and those I gift them to. Right now the sword belongs to Ais, and nobody else can touch it."Finn seemed surprised by the claim as Ais walked over and grabbed the sword from the wall. Vahn quickly explained its uses, "The blade has an enchantment that greatly increases its sharpness while reducing the weight. It might be a bit awkward at first, but I think it is very suitable for your style of combat." Hearing his words, Ais focused her energy into the blade and saw the runes begin to glow. By the time they had spread across the body of the blade, she noticed that the weight had almost disappeared.Ais had the biggest smile on her face that Vahn had ever seen. It was almost like her eyes were glowing as she marveled at the sword's capabilities. Turning towards Vahn, Ais stepped forward and in front of the entire gawking crowd, she kissed Vahn. She held the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away and saying, "Thank you Vahn." She then separated from him and started practicing using the sword a bit away from everyone else.Finn, who had been unaware of the 'progress' that had been made between Vahn and Ais recently stared between the two of him as if he had just witnessed the most unbelievable scene in the world. After a while, when he finally managed to compose himself, he looked toward Vahn and said, "I thought you would end up with Tiona...I never expected Ais to fall for you as well. It hasn't even been a day..." As he spoke the last words, Finn just shook his head and sighed.Motioning towards Gareth, who was giving Vahn a 'thumbs up', Finn began to lead the fuming Bete and the 'excited' Ais away. Before she had joined them, Ais removed the sword from her hip and ran over to give it to Vahn. "Here, just in case." Vahn received the sword with a smile before watching her join the rest of the Vanguard team. Seeing her 'happily' move away while carrying his tamahagane blade made Vahn feel a little less worried about what would happen.Rejoining the 'ambush' party, Vahn noticed that Tiona was looking toward him with a smile on her face. Once he got near, she closed the distance before saying, "I am really jealous she got a gift before me~ Make sure you remember that for later, okay~?" Though she was 'acting' mad, Vahn noticed she was very happy for some reason. He decided to ask her, "You seem very happy?"Tiona laughed cheekily before saying, "That's because I realized you're the type that worries about people, even if they are stronger than you. It makes me happy knowing you look at us like girls, instead of just strong warriors. It was my dream to be treated like a princess, ya know~?" Vahn noticed that she mentioned 'was', so he once again spoke. "Was? Why not anymore?"The smile on Tiona's face froze a little as a small amount of melancholy appeared, very briefly, in her eyes before fading away. "I learned when I was very young that you can't always wait for a prince to come and save you. Now, I've become much stronger than I was then...so I guess it just kinda faded away naturally~?" Tiona spoke in a chipper tone, but Vahn understood she was having sad thoughts as he could see her aura flicker slightly with a bluish hue.Vahn reached out his hand to place it on her hair, but before he finished the motion, he changed the trajectory of his hand and placed it on her cheek instead. Tiona stared at him with wide-eyes as Vahn gently stroked her cheek and passed his fingers through her hair in an affectionate manner. "I may not be able to do so now, but I will try to treat you like a princess in the future. Don't be sad, okay?"A red hue began to appear on Tiona's face as her eyes began to slowly build up moisture. Vahn could feel his instincts begin to trigger, and he realized he may have pushed his actions a little too far. Luckily, since everyone seemed to be interested in what Vahn was going to do, Tione had stepped in after noticing the change in her sister. "Alright you two, break it up! We don't have time for your lovey-dovey stuff right now. Stay focused!"Tiona was dragged away by Tione as she stared at Vahn with a somewhat heated expression on her face. Fortunately, she hadn't lost her mind like earlier as she allowed herself to be pulled away without resisting. Vahn just stood there watching as a voice sounded out from his left. "You cheater..." Vahn turned his head and saw Lefiya glaring at him while standing next to Riveria who had a slightly exasperated expression on her face. Seeing Vahn look over, Riveria said, "Vahn, the dungeon isn't the place to pick up girls. Flirt when you get back to town, we have a mission to do."Riveria began giving orders to the 'ambush' team and the group made their way to the area outside the 13th floor. The 'garrison' group split off from the main party and went to their designated area on the 14th floor. Eventually, Vahn's group had caught up and he was able to see the 'vanguard' party acknowledge their presence before entering the 13th floor proper. The 'ambush' group waited outside the door as Riveria listened for the sounds of combat.Everyone remained absolutely silent as they were waiting for the signal to enter the floor. The 'vanguard' was charged with drawing the attention of the Juggernaut before pulling it away if necessary. In the time they were engaging the creature, the 'ambush' group would move to their assigned spot on the 13th floor, an area that connected to the 14th floor through a series of holes.Twenty minutes of soul-crushing silence later, the group was able to feel the reverberations of the dungeon. Riveria's ears twitched slightly as she signaled to the 22 members of the 'ambush' party. "Let's move, we don't have a lot of time!" Before her words even finished, Riveria began leading the charge into the 13th floor. Following closely behind her were Tiona and Tione, while Vahn ran alongside Lefiya slightly ahead of the rest of the group.While they were running, Vahn noticed that Lefiya was holding her staff so tightly that her fingers were turning white. She had a fearful expression on her face, and she looked somewhat out of place amongst all the older adventurers in the party. As she was only 12, Lefiya was the youngest person in the entire group. Though she had the option to join the 'garrison' party, she had resolved herself to join the 'ambush' team so she could be of use. Though attack magic wouldn't work on the Juggernaut, Lefiya was also a capable healer and could case various buffs with the support of her unique skill [Elf Ring]. (A/N: Elf Ring lets Lefiya use ANY elven magic, as long as she knows the chant. Because of this, she is known as the Thousand-Elf in the canon.)Vahn felt Lefiya was very brave, but it was somewhat pitiful to see her current appearance. Without notice, he reached out his hand and channeled the strongest version of [Hands of Nirvana] he could while placing his hand on her shoulder. Lefiya startled a bit at the contact, but after seeing it was Vahn, she actually felt a little relieved. Feeling the calming and warm energies enter her body, the fear that had begun to settle in her mind was rapidly chased away.After a few seconds, Lefiya blushed slightly before knocking Vahn's hand away. She continued to run in silence without making eye contact for a few seconds before whispering in a low voice. "Thank you..." Vahn was still paying attention to Lefiya, so even though she spoke the words very quietly, he was able to hear her. Smiling, Vahn said, "You are very brave Lefiya, but don't try too hard. If things get dangerous, I will try to protect you."Lefiya gave Vahn a sideways glance before sighing in an exasperated manner. She gave Vahn a strange look and asked directly, "Don't tell me you aren't satisfied with Ais and Tiona, now you're aiming for me as well?" Vahn hadn't expected the sudden words, and he nearly lost his footing on the uneven ground of the dungeon.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Can't a guy be nice to a girl without bad intentions?','Where is the Juggernaut!?','Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? Probably.','Vahn creating future troubles with his handsy hands')

Chapter 105: Juggernaut Subjugation(2/2)