Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Although the Monster Feria had officially concluded, the town was still abuzz about the events that had taken place, especially during the final battle between Ottar, known as 'The King', and Vahn Mason, now being referred to by some as 'Emperor of Flames'. This was made easier by the fact that, much like the previous events, there were recordings of the flight being looped constantly in various regions of the city. People would gather together, even long after the sun went down, trying to glean insight from the fight between the two monstrously strong individuals. In the end, the one take away that almost everyone had was rather simple, 'Vahn Mason is the strongest Adventurer in the city now'.Though the title of 'strongest' fluctuated with time, the reason it was so meaningful in this instance was that Vahn, according to general knowledge, was simply a boy of 15-16 years old. Ottar was nearly twice his age and was considered to be in his prime while Vahn, just a little more than a year ago, had only been around Level 2. In fact, there was a clear record of Vahn's growth at the Guild, allowing people to see just how quickly not only Vahn, and everyone in the Hearth Manor was growing. Before, though some 'knew' this through rumors, it wasn't that big a deal, just a bit of interesting gossip. Now, however, almost everyone knew that they had grossly underestimated the growth of the people around Vahn who, now, was understandably the 'heart' of the Alliance.As for how that heart was currently spending his time, well, that likely would have made several people develop stomach ulcers, or perhaps even cough up blood. After his triumphant return to the Hearth Manor, Vahn had instantly been greeted at the door by Ina and Vana, with the later practically tackling him as she exclaimed, "Papa, that was so incredible! Please, teach me how to use fire like you!"Picking up the two girls, Vahn laughed jovially and said, "Once you're a little older, I'll teach you all kinds of cool tricks with fire. For now, you need to continue developing your control so I can give you a special gift I've been holding onto, okay~?" Though not entirely satisfied, Vana eventually nodded with a vibrant smile and said, "Okay, Papa, thank you~!" before giving him a kiss on the cheek and tightly squeezing his neck. As for Ina, she was hugging him from the other side, a dreamy and star-stunned gaze in her eyes, almost like she was looking at her idol.After things settled down a little while later, Vahn learned that, during the screening of the event, the girls had been watching it intently the entire time. Whenever he would 'seem' to be at a disadvantage, Vana and Ina would both be out of their seats, screaming at the projection and trying to cheer him on. Erika sat quietly at the side but, much to her chagrin, Loki kept making comments about how she would tense up, ball her fists, and get a fierce look in her eyes like someone contemplating 'vengeance'. It was in this matter that, for the first two hours of the broadcast, the girls watched with a mixture of excitement and tension as they prayed for his victory...By the time his fight with Ottar had started, few people were able to stay seated and, much like Vana, several of the other girls had joined in as they practically screamed at the projection. Though there were quite a few details missing, as the orbs couldn't really capture everything going on, they were still able to see the moment when Vahn had transformed into his 'Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1' form. Vana, unable to contain herself, actually burst into flames of her own, fortunately avoiding setting any of the furniture on fire. Then, when they saw him almost immediately lose an arm after that, Ina had nearly fainted, fortunately with Hephaestus there to support her. In the end, she was glad she didn't as, much like everyone else, they were able to witness how 'invincible' her Papa truly was...Now, the same evening after their reunion, Vahn, the man publically considered the 'Strongest', was dressed in an adult bear costume with three little bear cubs clinging to his body. Ever since the start of the Monster Feria, the girls had, understandably, had a bit of trouble going to sleep at night. They would periodically imagine themselves fighting against monsters, especially Vana, as she genuinely wanted to become a Hero in the future. However, as rambunctious as she was, Vana was a very kind-hearted girl and, even though she hadn't given up on her dream, it made her sad just thinking about killing anything, monster or otherwise.Since then, Vahn had been sleeping in the same bed as the three girls, with Hephaestus and Loki often joining them. Tonight, as a form of parent-child bonding, Vahn had them all dress up in tiny bear pajamas and, being the Papa bear, he also wore a plush and comfortable costume as they all snuggled up together and went to sleep. Since they had been watching the entire broadcast, the girls were all very tired so, for tonight, Vahn had just been sleeping with them alone. Loki had a number of things to 'take care' of and, being the fiery and overprotective goddess she always had been, Hephaestus was helping out.Of course, that didn't mean Vahn was just leaving everything to them, as he had also split his body into two in order to help track down some priority targets trying to flee the city. There was one group in particular that he had taken note of and, after conferring with Loki, he immediately set out to track them down before they missed the timing again. Thus, after moving through Daedalus Street, following a few twists and turns through various buildings, Vahn found his way into a rather gaudy 'throne room'. Before him, doing his best to appear nonplussed, Apollo sat on his golden throne while a rather handsome man nursed two broken arms and tried to protect him with his body.Tightly gripping the armrests of his throne, Apollo glared towards Vahn with his golden eyes as an icy voice escaped his lips, "Vahn...Mason...why have you come here...? Why are you attacking my Familia!?" While speaking, a sun-like radiance began to shroud Apollo's body as his Divinity began to shine forth, ready to activate at a moment's notice. Vahn, being influenced by the inherent state of his [Magia Erebea] cells, felt like his skin was tingling but kept his composure as he said plainly, "You have harbored ill will towards myself, my family, and the Alliance...you have even tried to send assassins to kill me during the Monster Feria today and, most importantly, you are supposed to have already fled the city. The fact you're here, without reporting your activities to the Guild, shows that you're operating illegally...and this place...disgusting..."Vahn hadn't come into Apollo's den on his own and, for the first time since he started proactively fighting his enemies, the 'combat' group of the Hearth Familia had come along with him. Though he had penetrated directly to the heart of Apollo's stronghold, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, and Maemi were all wreaking havoc on their own. With their current Levels, combined with their [Pactio] forms, there hadn't been any real opposition the entire time. Even the Captain of the Apollo Familia, the man with two broken arms trying to protect his errant god, was simply around the peak of Level 3...While he had been dealing with Apollo, the girls had been raiding the stronghold, defeating the members that tried to fight back, and securing all of the people held captive by Apollo. The fact there had been more than fifty Elven slaves had been a great surprise to them and, after he had heard this through his shared telepathy with the girls, Vahn's visage had become icy. One of the things he hated the most was when people were forced to serve other people against there will, especially when that person was some arrogant god like Apollo. Some of the female Elves had even been found locked away in what was obviously a pleasure dungeon, chained and gagged as they awaited a fate some considered worse than death.Apollo, now shining like the very sun in the sky, rose to his feet and said, "You pathetic mortal...do you truly believe yourself the equal of a god...? That power you pride yourself for, do you believe it to be inviolable...?" Without holding anything back, Apollo allowed the aura of his Divinity to fill the hall as his eyes began to glow like flames. With a wrathful expression, he shouted out at the top of his voice, "You are just a brat that understands nothing of true power! How dare you try to usurp a right given to us gods!? YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL, VAHN MASON, YOU ARE A ABHORATION THAT THREATENS THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD!!! NOW, FACE MY DIVINE WRATH AND KNOW YOUR PLACE!!!"Though he would get ejected and forced back to Heaven, Apollo 'needed' to destroy the boy in front of him completely. Vahn didn't just threaten his own 'right' as a god, but the rights of all gods that had been formed in Heaven. Apollo simply couldn't tolerate the idea of a mortal doing whatever he pleased, especially if it prevented him from doing what he wanted. The fact he had to act so cautiously, just because Vahn existed, had infuriated him to no end.Unable to contain himself any longer, Apollo sent out a wave of energy, almost like a solar flare, that incinerated his own Captain, Hyakinthos Clio, and turned the latter's body into ashes in an instant. Though Apollo felt a bit of pain in his heart, he continued to glare towards Vahn with a vengeful expression and 'willed' the boy before him to get incinerated into nothingness. Even Vahn's soul wouldn't escape his wrath as, on his way back to Heaven, Apollo swore he would do everything in his power to tear apart and imprison it for as long as he could...Vahn was a little stunned by the terrifying might of Apollo's Arcanum being fired towards him, even if it was much weaker than it would have been in Heaven. However, he wasn't remotely afraid of the attack and, surprising the proud Sun God, Vahn stepped 'into' the attack. Though it made every cell of his body feel like it was itching, Vahn didn't take any actual damage since, as a result of his bond with the 'eternal flame', Vahn was completely immune to all Yang based flames. Since the flames from the sun were exactly that, Vahn couldn't be damaged by Apollo's attack at all, even though it made him want to gouge his flesh with how absolutely irritating it was.Seeing Vahn walk through his attack, something which should have completely annihilated the mortal boy before him, Apollo was completely awestruck. This was something that was simply 'impossible', so far outside the realm of probability that it would have never even crossed the minds of any god, including himself. However, he was forgetting that the vast majority of things that Vahn had accomplished over the last 21 months were supposedly impossible.Now, Apollo was beginning to regret not treating Cassandra Ilion's 'prophecy' even more seriously. Time and again, she had told him that his actions would lead to their destruction but, no matter how he had 'tried' to change this, the prophecy never changed. Apollo was simply fed up with it all and, much like the Elves he had been trying to break, she had been chained up with them as punishment for her 'failed' divinations. One of the last thoughts that crossed his mind, as Vahn's fist tore through the void towards his face, was that he shouldn't have doubted her at all...Though Apollo was getting ejected from the world for using his Divinity, Vahn wanted to make sure he wasn't able to return to the mortal world any time soon. Having your 'avatar' destroyed would require you to spend nearly a hundred years just to form a new one and that would earn them plenty of time to change the world before the arrogant god could even think about returning. He also had a lot of regrets about how Chloe had borne the weight of his indecision against Laverna, the small goddess he had confronted long ago in the escape tunnels beneath the city.This time, Vahn would bear the weight on his own shoulders and, even if there was a backlash from the godly community, he was positive they could tide it over. After all, Apollo was undoubtedly in the wrong right now and, even if he tried to hide it, everyone in Heaven would be able to discern that he had already used his Divinity against a mortal. The fact he had failed, and had been attacked, as a result, would undoubtedly earn him even greater ridicule. Though some gods, especially those that already disliked him, might try to find trouble in the future, the Alliance had already reached a point where its momentum simply couldn't be halted anymore.Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn buried his fist into Apollo's face, feeling the bones break beneath the force of his punch as the once-handsome god's face distorted around his fist. In the next instant, a shockwave began to transmit from the force of the blow and caused Apollo's head to disintegrate into red mist as his now headless body fell to the ground and started to dissipate into particles of light. Vahn, not entirely satisfied with the result, placed his palm against the Apollo's remnants and, much like he would store a monster's body, stowed it away in his Inventory. Even if he couldn't make use of the body for anything meaningful, Vahn knew it would at least make it more difficult for Apollo to recreate his avatar in the future...With Apollo dead, Vahn turned his eyes to the human-shaped shadowy blotch on the ground where the Captain of the Apollo Familia had once stood. The fact the man had defended his god, even as the latter burned his body to a crisp, made Vahn respect his convictions. Even if they couldn't see eye-to-eye, on a fundamental level, Vahn knew there were some things in the world that simply deserved respect, especially in relation to the dead. Thus, bringing his palms together, Vahn prayed that the man would find happiness in his next incarnation. Hopefully, if his loyalty held true in the next life, Hyakinthos Clio would find a much better master to serve...After finishing his prayer, Vahn focused his mind and sensed the stress levels of each of the girls he shared a [Pactio] with. None of them seemed to be in a heightened state of duress so he asked the person most likely to answer his questions clearly, ("Lefiya, can you explain the situation to me?") In response, Vahn felt the peculiar 'delay' once again, squinting his eyes slightly as Lefiya's voice sounded within his mind, ("Ah, Master, everything is under control here! We noticed that the slave crests on all the girls' bodies had deactivated and are now freeing them from their contracts~!")If a slave's master had died, without any clauses within the contract to 'free' them, their contracts would become 'open' at that point. Generally, such slaves would immediately become the property of whoever found them next, an aspect of the system that Vahn thought was highly flawed. Fortunately, there were some benefits to it as, right now, the slaves had all fallen under the ownership of the girls and could easily be released as a result. This brought a small smile to his face until, shortly after Lefiya's voice faded, Chloe's sounded out in his mind, saying, ("Vahn, there are two girls here I think you should speak with. One of them says she has something very important to tell you and won't reveal any of the details until you show up...")After sending an affirmation, Vahn quickly made his way over to where the girls were, not bothering to loot any of the items within the throne and adjacent treasure rooms. He would leave them for the Alliance to sort out later, as his own wealth and resources were nigh-infinite if he wanted to exploit his own body to the limits.Ever since he became a Progenitor, that could also emulate the abilities of a Doppelganger, Vahn had been able to use his own body as a 'factory' to produce any material he had an understanding of. Though it would produce negative karma if he tried to use these materials to generate wealth, there were no consequences for creating materials that he could use in forging. He couldn't sell the materials, nor the resultant equipment, for OP, but he still earned a sizeable amount from creating the items themselves. (A/N: This means Vahn can't grow an Adamantine Ingot from his body and just feed it into the system for a few thousand OP. Items harvested from his own body, just like his blood, would sell for a whopping 0. Trying to sell those items to other people, for petty wealth, would lead to gaining negative karma.)After moving through a few corridors, heading down a few flights of stairs, and passing through a heavily reinforced gate, Vahn found himself inside of a foul-smelling dungeon. He knew exactly what purpose this place held and, before he even started talking with the girls Chloe wanted him to meet, Vahn turned to Ais, Tiona, and Lefiya, saying, "Get these girls out of this hell hole. You can free them on the surface after taking them to safety..." Just the smell alone annoyed Vahn and, considering they could have been here for months, he knew the girls probably wanted to get out of this dark place as soon as possible.Without questioning his words, the three girls began escorting the former slaves to the surface while Vahn passed each of them cloaks to conceal their bodies. Many of them were shedding tears and, as the majority of the girls were Elves, Vahn felt like he had an exposed nerve that had been touched. The matter of Riveria's father still weighed heavily on his mind and, knowing the man was about to be heading off to his death, Vahn was sensitive to any matter concerning Elves. Seeing the girls like this, made slaves for the benefit of people who were supposed to protect them, he felt an icy sensation spreading through his mind...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Papa bear ʕ •́؈•̀)...','Pow, right in the kisser!','Rage Boi, Vahn Mason')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Shortly after his first exchange with Ottar, Vahn very quickly realized that the latter wasn't known as the 'strongest' without a reason. Not only was Ottar 30cm taller than he was, built like a mountain, but the vast disparity in their strength appeared when Ottar extended out his sword, as if he had swung it, even though Vahn had been pressing all of his Power down on Ottar's blade. It was almost like he had been tossed like a loose stone, flying back nearly twenty meters before he was able to get his footing again. As for Ottar, he had a plan and implacable expression as he dual-wielded two large greatswords as if they weighed less than feathers.Vahn exhaled and, without trying to directly engage Ottar again, jumped back, extending his left hand outward as he exclaimed, "Magic Arrows, Three Fire Arrows. Gather, 19 spirits of flame. Magic Arrows, Series of Fire~!" At the same time as his chant, a large red magic circle appeared behind Vahn's body and, stunning the crowd, began rotating in clockwise as Vahn began to levitate into the sky. He pulled out [Laevateinn], wielding it in his right hand as the nineteen fire arrows shot out from his magic circle and veered towards Ottar.Instead of trying to dodge, Ottar's eyes flashed and, like a meat grinder, he began to swing both of his swords without taking a single step. Blades of energy flew every time he swung his swords, bisecting and dispersing each flame arrow with impeccable accuracy. On his twentieth strike, however, Ottar flexed his right arm, causing it to expand slightly before he cut at an upwards arc. This time, instead of a formless blade of energy, a blue crescent shot towards Vahn in the blink of an eye. If not for Vahn's ability to use [Shundo], causing the blade to cleave through empty space, it very likely would have taken off his arm.Unfortunately, [Shundo] didn't serve him well this time as, the moment Vahn appeared next to Ottar, the latter swung his sword with unstoppable momentum, cleaving directly towards him. Using [Laveateinn] in an attempt to parry, Vahn's mind dulled when the relatively low-grade sword used by Ottar bisected his S-Rank sword and veered towards his chest. Though he could tell that the wound would be shallow, it still caused all the hair on Vahn's body to stand up seeing the glint contained on the edge of the blade. With the fastest speed he could manage, in his base state, Vahn used [Shundo] and moved backward.Ottar, instead of following, looked at the sword in his hand, noticing that the edge had started to turn red hot. A few seconds later, without him even letting go of the handle, the blade began to melt and he remarked, "That weapon of yours...was very high quality...sorry..." When he heard this, Vahn just laughed lightly and said, "Don't worry, I'll just reforge it even stronger next time..." Though it didn't have a true consciousness, Vahn could 'feel' the half of [Laevateinn] he still held 'screaming' that it could still continue fighting. Replacing the previous blade, a crimson flame blade began to emerge from the remaining half, causing the air around to begin warping.Seeing this, Vahn smiled, whispering, "Next time, old friend...this isn't an enemy..." before putting it back in his Inventory. Ottar's expression didn't change in the slightest as he asked, "Do you have more weapons...?" In response to this, Vahn gave a small nod but, instead of pulling out a sword, commented, "Well, I have a feeling that swords won't have much of an effect on you..." Even now, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could see another strange energy covering Ottar's entire body. At this point, he was pretty confident he had identified all three of Ottar's Innates, determining he had one related to Swords, one that increased his defense, and one that altered his state of mind. Giving Ottar's 'quirks', making him seem relatively simple and taciturn, it wasn't difficult to see there was 'something' influencing his mind...Ottar simply nodded in turn, pointing the sword in his left hand forward while unsheathing one of the two he kept crossed on his back. He seemed very accustomed to losing his blades in battle, considering he carried four large greatswords, a sturdy looking dagger, and what looked like a set of knuckle-dusters affixed to his belt. As for armor, Ottar only wore a plate to cover his heart and a band around his head that had a small curve visor to deflect liquids and protect his eyes. Even if he was considered 'Invincible', it didn't mean he was complete without weaknesses, all of which could easily be seen with Vahn's vision. The area around his heart actually lacked the protective membrane of the rest of his body, similar to how Fafnir's durability didn't extend to the scar on his chest...The moment Ottar unsheathed his replacement sword, Vahn took to the sky to avoid the two blades of energy that cleaved through his position. They continued forward, slicing clear through the barrier and continuing through the walls of the Coliseum until 'vanishing' before they reached the crowded streets outside. Vahn, noting this, continued to go even higher into the sky, causing some to believe he was running away. In truth, he just wanted to see Ottar's range while buying a little bit of time to cast his next magic spell. Ottar's previous attack had 'cut' through his magic circle, which should have been impossible, but that was simply how Laws worked at times. It was obvious that Ottar's Innate gave him control over 'Sword Laws', allowing him to cut through almost anything, much to his [Laevateinn]'s misfortune...After retreated to around 700m, Vahn noticed that Ottar stopped attacking and just stood still as he patiently waited to continue the fight. Vahn lightly waved, showing an apologetic expression on his face before chanting, "Tyrannical Flame, Create an Endless cycle of Purgatory. Come unto me, Crimson Blaze, Fiery Inferno, Raiment of Destruction! Avatar of the Sun! Flame Emperor's Wrath~! Fixate. Seize. Load magic, 'Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1'~! " Though it wasn't quite at the level of true 'named' magic, Vahn had put a lot of effort into creating a unique spell of his own, making full use of his fire elemental affinity, the one reliable element he had been able to make use of.As if a second sun had appeared in the sky, everyone in the stands shielded their eyes or looked away from the vibrant crimson-white light. Though nobody was truly surprised that Vahn had powerful fire magic to make use of, they were absolutely shocked when they bore witness to what was in front of them. Instead of his skin turning onyx-black, Vahn had a red hue to his flesh, covered with blazing white tattoos. He now looked completely different than his original self, growing to a height of 200cm, fully displaying his muscular figure that was now shrouded by 'physical' flames, forming a 'cloth' around his waist that extended to his knees. Behind his back, there was a sun-shaped ring with nine wavy spikes that had a smaller sphere hovering in the center, looking exactly like a small sun.For the first time, Ottar's expression changed slightly, brows slightly raised with a small smile affixed to his lips. In a voice only he could hear, Ottar commented, "Lady Freya made the correct choice, Vahn Mason...even though it had been my fate to serve as your stepping stone, it looks like you have already risen to a height I can no longer reach..." With his personal soliloquy coming to an end, Ottar's expression turned into a fiercely competitive grin as he released a loud warcry, creating a shockwave with his voice alone. In an instant, his muscles had expanded nearly 30% and, as he let his swords hang naturally in his grip, the ground around Ottar began to 'collapse' from the pressure exerted by the simple movement.Since Ottar had given him time to prepare, Vahn extended the same courtesy to the proud King below. It was a shame they had met under such circumstances as Vahn had always had a very good impression of Ottar, ever since their first meeting had come to an end. He was a man worthy of respect and Vahn couldn't help but wonder why Freya had sent him here, even though he was also grateful for the challenge. Now that he thought about it in greater detail, that might have been the actual reason for Freya's actions. She may have sent Ottar to 'show' the City that he was no longer the strongest...or perhaps to 'convince' the members of her own Familia...Realizing the potential truth of this line of thinking, Vahn resisted the urge to pity Ottar and, instead, showed the unwaveringly loyal man the respect he deserved. For better or worse, Ottar had never budged on the loyalty he had towards Freya, even if she treated him like a convenient tool. Though Vahn couldn't truly understand the reasoning behind such a train of thought, he knew there were few people that would be able to stay true to themselves in a situation where most people would have broken. Vahn suspected it had something to do with one of Ottar's Innates but that could be considered at a later date since the proud King looked prepared to do battle.Pulling out [Longinus], Vahn then pushed his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme, releasing a similar war cry to Ottar's as they both shouted, "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!" at the top of their voices. To the spectators, it suddenly felt like gravity had increased on their bodies and, as Vahn began to descend upon the arena, it felt like the very sky above was falling down upon them. The weaker members of the audience had collapsed to their knees as the temperature in the arena began to rapidly increase. This was the case, even though Vahn was doing his best to contain the fire elemental energy within his body...As he hadn't used [Shundo] for the attack, feeling as though it would dishonor Ottar's conviction, Vahn relied on his levitation and normal flying speed, which could easily reach 2300km/h, as he descended to the ground like a bolt of lightning. At the same time, Ottar had let go of his left sword and, using both hands, swung his weapon towards the sky in a beautiful arc that seemed to embody all the principles of perfect swordsmanship. Vahn tilted his body as quickly as he could, extending [Longinus] forward as his left arm and shoulder were completely 'annihilated' by the meter-thick blade of Sword Laws that had emerged from Ottar's sword like a pillar.With the same momentum he had started his descent with, Vahn struck forward with [Longinus] towards Ottar's own shoulder, feeling a powerful resistive force feed into his hand as the defensive Innate of Ottar attempted to repel his attack. Vahn could actually see the strange energy in Ottar's body converge towards the contact point, almost like a ripple condensing inwards as a golden light shone at the spear's tip. Still, [Longinus] was his current masterpiece and, as Ottar drew some of his strength from his pseudo-divinity, Vahn's spear pressed forward, undaunted, burying itself into Ottar's flesh, even if only ten centimeters.Using the flat of his blade, Ottar swung it across and smashed it into Vahn's chest, sending the later flying while [Longinus] stayed buried within the former's shoulder. Ottar released another loud warcry and, for the first time since the start of the fight, charged toward Vahn like a meteor descending upon the world. Confusing the spectators, who had seen Vahn's arm obliterated previously, Vahn struck towards Ottar's blade with both palms covering with a dense energy coating. Before anyone had realized it, Vahn's arm had completely regrown and the 'sun' at his back had vanished as a surging heat spread from Vahn's hands.Without backing down at all, Ottar cleaved downwards and, even though his blade was turned into liquid metal before it collided with Vahn's hands, the formless sword energy continued forward, cleaving through Vahn's body and bisecting the entire arena's floor. A 10cm wide crevasse appeared that seemed to continue down into the ground deeper than light could travel. Still, though there were some who believed Vahn had been slain by the blow, the more observant among them saw Vahn's bisected body simply reform at the same time it was being cut through. There was almost no time lag between when he had been cut, and when his body had reattached...As a result of his regeneration being kicked into overdrive, Vahn's attack had continued forward, striking Ottar's chest and sending him several hundred meters into the sky. On his bare chest, as most of his clothes had been burned away, there were two white-hot handprints that were causing the surrounding tissue to begin glowing from the ambient heat. Amazingly, it seemed like his flesh was resisting this effect and, at a rate that only people like Vahn could discern, it could be seen that Ottar's resistances were overwhelming the intense heat. Vahn felt his mind dull a little at this realization but it didn't do anything to the excited smile on his face as he kicked against the ground with full force...It could have been a result of Ottar's sword attack disturbing the foundation, but Vahn's kick against the arena floor caused the entire thing to collapse as he ascended towards the sky in an instant, slamming his foot into Ottar's crossed arms. The moment the force of his kick had been dispersed, Vahn felt his ankle gripped by an inviolable strength as Ottar shouted, "Graaaaaaah!" and threw him towards the ground, seemingly twice as fast as when he had leaped upwards. This time, the already collapsed arena floor sunk an entire level deeper, putting a heavy strain on the underground area where all the monsters were contained. Fortunately, it was even more durable than the bedrock located deep within the Dungeon, allowing it to bear the burden, at least temporarily...When Ottar landed, it happened to be outside of the arena and it caused the crowd to immediately recede away from him, almost as if he were a dangerous beast. However, instead of attacking and jumping back into the fray, Ottar just sat down in a seat of his own and used his good arm to pull [Longinus] out of his shoulder. He gave an appreciative look at the spear before confusing everyone present by lightly tossing it into the cloud of stone debris in the arena's center. At that moment, a powerful wind caused the cloud to disperse in an instant, revealing Vahn's uninjured body as he caught the spear in his hand, remarking, "Thanks..." with a casual smile on his face.Seeing Vahn, once again, completely uninjured, people began to assume that his current form actually made him 'invincible', even more so than the seemingly invincible King. Then, as if asking the question that was on everyone's minds, Ottar's voice sounded out in the arena, "That form...it is very powerful...what do you call it?" Vahn, still hovering in the sky as if it required absolutely no effort, smiled as he explained, "This is my 'Imperatoris Ignis', meaning 'Fire Emperor' in an Ancient Tongue...what do you think?"In response to Vahn's question, Ottar gave a nod of affirmation and said, "It's a good name...very fitting..." Then, as if he had just finished a menial task, Ottar stood up from his seat and said, "This is my loss..." before walking towards the Coliseum's exit. When they heard this, the awestruck crowd went completely wild, exclamations of shock and disbelief infinitely compounding on each other. The fight they had witnessed, to some people, was like watching a battle between two gods, one possessing of infinite strength while the other was the embodiment of fire itself. In the end, however, surprising almost every single individual present, the 'King' had been overcome by the 'Emperor', making it obvious for everyone present that a new era had just been ushered into the City...the era of Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, and the 'Emperor of Flames'...Though there were still a few hours remaining for the challenge, nobody jumped into the 'ruins' where the arena once existed. Seeing Vahn casually 'standing' in the sky, few people could even look directly at him, much less consider fighting him. There wasn't a single person present amongst the crowd who harbored the delusion that could defeat someone that not even Ottar had been able to best.The fact that Vahn seemed to recover from any wound, regardless of how severe, was just another reason for the absolute powerlessness that many previously proud Adventurer's felt. Even those few Level 5's, who had been thinking about contending against Vahn later in the competition, now sat in their seats and just waited for someone else to take up the challenge. Unlike Ottar, they didn't have nigh indestructible bodies so, as long as Vahn was in his 'Imperatoris Ignis' form, none of them had any intention of seeking death...Just as he had done previously with his water barrier, Vahn waited patiently in the center of the arena, even going into a meditative seated position in mid-air. Strangely, even as the hours whittled away, very few people bothered to leave the arena. Everyone just sat, talking amongst themselves about what they had witnessed while wondering if anyone else would rise to the challenge. After Ottar, they didn't believe anyone was brave enough to fight against Vahn's current form and, judging by how calm he was, nobody believed it would fade away any time soon.This was the reason Vahn had developed his 'Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1', as his control over fire elemental energy had always been much higher than his other elements. He could sustain the form almost indefinitely after assuming it, as long as his energy reserves weren't drained by other attacks. While meditating, his efficiency increased even further, allowing Vahn to remain seated for the remaining duration of the challenge without issue. The moment the loud gong sounded out, followed by Ganesha's boisterous and booming voice, Vahn opened his eyes and allowed his body to return to normal, exhaling a sigh before smiling contentedly.While Ganesha was still making his comments, Tiona had flown through the sky like a bullet, tackling him in mid-air as she tightly squeezed his body. Much to the crowds' amusement, he made a sound like a frog being crushed as the over-excited Amazon used her titanic strength to strain his bones and tenderize his organs. Some, though they were a marginal group, even prayed that she might 'accidentally' kill him since a cold sweat had been pouring down their back for the last couple of hours. As for who these individuals were, they were people Vahn had taken the time to 'mark' while he was meditating, inserting small wards into their bodies while using his domain as a medium. Now, the instincts they had cultivated over several years within the darkness of society were telling them that unavoidable danger was about to fall upon their heads...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Might of the King...!','Fire Emperor's Descent','Checkmate')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh

Chapter 761: Man of Action