Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

While he was dealing with matters both on the surface, and within the Dungeon, things hadn't exactly been quiet within Lil Geirr. There had been several monster waves that had appeared, even though it was supposed to be a safe zone, so the patrols had been rather tense. Though every attack had been dealt with very quickly, as defensive battles with heavy fortifications were quite easy to maintain, things become a little more troublesome when the expedition from the Noble Faction showed up. They were lead by two Level 5 brothers named Keith and Ike, both having retired from Adventuring years prior but now served as the head guards for the Deval Noble Family.Upon arriving on the 39th Floor, it was very apparent they hadn't enjoyed the same 'smooth' journey of the Alliance as nearly a third of their convoy had been wiped out. They had lost nearly half of their wagons and supplies as well, arriving beaten and battered as they 'demanded' to be allowed within Lil Geirr. It was their reasoning that the outpost, while operated by the Alliance, was supposed to serve as a rest stop for all Adventurers that were delving into the Dungeon. This wasn't exactly false, as anyone that hadn't been blacklisted by the Alliance could temporarily reside inside of Lil Geirr, but the guards weren't happy to have people who were obviously 'hostile' towards the Alliance making demands of them.Instead of acceding to the two brothers' provocation, the gates remained completely closed and a message was quickly sent via communication scroll, alerting Gareth, Finn, and, subsequently, Vahn himself. All three had been gathered in the public mess hall and were partaking of a small feast with other residents of the settlement as a means of increasing morale. When the messenger arrived carrying the report, the entire mess hall had turned silent as Gareth released a throaty hmph and rose from the table, saying, "I'll deal with these idiots..." As if he wasn't about to go deal with a group comprised of nearly two-hundred people, Gareth threw back another mug of alcohol and released a loud belch before moving rather quickly towards the exit.Vahn and Finn watched him 'waddle' away as the latter asked, "Are you going...?" with a slightly annoyed look on his face. Since he wasn't the type to just sit around, at least currently, Vahn nodded his head and swept away his food as he said, "We should probably prepare the next rotation and increase the defenses of Lil Geirr. I have a feeling these idiots have brought even more trouble with them than they themselves realize..." Finn nodded his head and began issuing orders to the people within the Mess Hall as Vahn quickly made his way to the main gate of Lil Geirr to see what kind of farce they would try to pull this time.Though Gareth didn't seem to be that fast from his physique, he had already run over to the gate without even bothering to wear his armor as he looked down upon the expedition 'camping' outside of the front gate and shouted, "Its obvious yer lot hasn't come here with good intentions. The Alliance will offer you aid to help lick yer wounds, but you're two shades shy of a piece of shit if you think I'll let you inside these walls!" Vahn nearly fell out of the sky when he heard this loud bellow, not quite understanding the logic behind the insult, even though it was hilarious.The two brothers gathered below didn't seem to find it nearly as funny, however, as the taller of the two, Keith, raised his sword and pointed it towards Gareth, screaming, "You and the Alliance believe you can do whatever you want without any consequences!? This trash heap is publically purported to be a place where people can seek shelter and supplies! But that isn't the truth, is it, Gareth Landrock!? No, this shitty-" In the middle of his words, Keith and Ike both jumped back to evade the large mass of muscle and bristly hair that was Gareth, smashing into the ground like a mountain falling from the sky. He didn't even have any of his equipment on at all as he gestured towards the two men, stating, "Less bullshit. Come, brats. I'm not yer Daddy, but I'll give you a spanking if you need it!"As entertaining the sight of Gareth spanking two grown men might be, Vahn decided to make his own entrance at this moment, using [Shundo] to appear next to Gareth and patting the man's iron-like shoulder as he said, "Make sure to get your equipment prepared, Gareth, I have a feeling things are going to escalate very quickly." Though his eyes were still focused on Keith and Ike, Gareth nodded his head before leaping back to the top of the 20m tall walls with an ease that didn't quite match his frame. As for Vahn, he now traded places with Gareth, staring down the two men as he plainly stated, "I have no interest in the games you wish to play. If you decide to cause trouble and run your mouth, expect to be dealt with accordingly. I don't care what you tell your Masters when you return, but make sure they know the Alliance will seek a reckoning with them depending on your actions..."Though he had been focused on the two men at first, Vahn's eyes darted towards one of their wagons since he had sensed a peculiar fluctuation of mana coming from within. His eyes flashed a mystical blue color and he peered directly into the tightly bound contents, immediately feeling his body tense up with what he saw. Waving his hand, Vahn placed the entire wagon into his Inventory before moving forward and striking both men in an instant. A cold light glimmered in his eyes as he asked, "You were never trying to build a settlement of your own...you sly bastards...hahahahaha~!"Within the cart, Vahn had seen a massive monster core that had been surrounded by a complex mechanism that radiated an incredible amount of energy, even though it had been contained. Since he had seen the explosives used back at the Elven Kingdom, Vahn immediately understood the purpose of the secret cargo and why they so desperately wanted to enter Lil Geirr. He even suspected that the tunnel that had been dug through the plateau had been specifically designed to move this massive bomb into the encampment.Having no intentions of playing around, Vahn bore his pressure down upon the injured members of the Nobles' expedition and shouted, "Leave this place, immediately, you curs!" At the same time, Vahn pulled his hands free from the chests of Keith and Ike, letting their dead bodies slump to the ground before moving several more carts of supplies into his Inventory. Though it was unlikely every member of their expedition knew what they were carrying, it was a simple fact that these people had come to cause problems for the Alliance. Vahn wasn't going to dirty his hands by killing them himself, but he wasn't going to let them get away without paying some form of reparations either.Seeing their leaders get killed in an instant, while most of their supplies simply 'vanished' into thin air, the remaining members of the Nobles' expedition began running down the slope leading up to the plateau as if their lives depended on it. Vahn didn't stop them from fleeing but he could also see what they were fleeing towards as he raised his hand and shouted, "Prepare to engage the enemy! Man the ballistae!" At the same time, Vahn took to the sky and pulled out his [Yoichi Bow] and began loosing arrows towards the forest surrounding the plateau. The members of the Noble expedition were confused by this, at least until they saw the veritable horde of monsters break through the line of trees and rush towards the slope they were currently standing on...To prevent them from doubling back and trying to enter into Lil Geirr, Vahn drew out [Laevateinn] and created a massive tidal wave of flame that barred access to the slope. This would prevent both the majority of scoundrels and monsters from ascending the slope, even if they tried their hardest to extinguish the flames. As for those that had the physical ability to leap over the flames, they were fortunately intelligent enough not to even try and instead abandoned the weaker members of their troupe and fled into the forests. This left the logistical support specialists and Supports completely unprotected as the horde of Loup Garou, Obsidian Soldiers, Spartoi, and Barbarians tore through them.Though he pitied some of them, Vahn's face remained unphased as he continued to draw his bow and loose arrows with enough force to pierce through several monsters before losing their power. Beneath him, as he had ascended above their trajectory, hundreds of arrows, ballistae bolts, and magic spells traced colorful arcs through the air and crashed into the approaching horde. Even so, with their sheer numbers, the monsters were slowly gaining ground as a line of Skull Sheep waved their magical staves and created barriers to block the rain of projectiles. Though this didn't do much against the ballistae bolts, and Vahn's arrows, it still gave the monsters a slight advantage...at least until they reached the sea of flames halfway up the slope.The monsters seemed intent to try and smother the flames with the corpses of their own 'allies', but [Laevateinn]'s flames were even more powerful than they had been in the past. Not only could the flames burn perpetually, but they carried a highly corrosive effect with the power of Destruction and Darkness contained within them. This gave them a bloody-red coloration with wisps of crimson and pure darkness as they continued to expand and devour the monster horde. Then, once the flames had reached a critical level, Vahn tossed his [Yoichi Bow] into his Inventory and 'pressed' both of his hands forward. The bloody flames then began to 'descend' the slope and proactively devour the monsters trying to use their allies as a foothold to proceed forward...Around this time, Gareth and Finn had shown up to command the defenses, the latter showing a slightly confused expression as he murmured to himself, "Where are Ais and the others...?" Generally, whenever there was an attack against the base, the girls would be the first to take to the defense. Vahn usually sat back and only assisted when necessary, generally serving as a support and preventing any casualties from occurring. This was the first time Finn had watched him put on such a showy display and, as the girls' presence was 'very' noticeable on the battlefield, it felt strange not seeing them slaughtering monsters with the ease of a skilled farmer harvesting wheat...While devouring the enemies with his flames, Vahn was actually sending telepathic messages to the girls, having them protect the perimeter and keep watch for any surprise attacks. This wave of monsters was much bigger than normal and Vahn suspected it was the result of Enyo's forces trying to take advantage of the secondary expedition trying to cause trouble. If things had proceeded in a 'normal' manner, the gates would have been opened to allow the Nobles' expedition to flee into Lil Geirr when the monsters attacked. This would have allowed them to set off their bomb in the core of the settlement, leading Vahn to speculate that the Nobles had some kind of dealings with Enyo and the Iron Hills...either way, it was very annoying.As expected, Vahn got a message from Lefiya a few minutes into the 'invasion', her panicked voice resounding in his mind as she said, ("Master! There is a strange plant monster here!"). Vahn blinked next to Finn, startling the Pallum as he held out [Longinus] and said, "You can borrow this for the time being. There are other enemies. Protect the Gate." Without bothering to explain further, Vahn vanished from sight, leaving a confused Finn holding one of the most powerful spears within the record. His attention was pulled to the spear a few moments later, causing his blue eyes to glimmer as he felt the 'power' emanating from the relatively simple looking weapon...It didn't take Vahn to reach Lefiya's location, finding her chanting a powerful magic spell as Tina 'rooted' a massive Minotaur-like creature that had a flower blooming out of its head in place. There was a cloud of spores in the area but they were unable to break through Tina's barrier as her rather petite frame stood stalwart like a mountain. Vahn felt this display was commendable and, if not for the fact there were other strange creatures assaulting Chloe and Shizune, he would have just watched the battle play out. Now, with [Laevateinn] in his hands, Vahn tore through the air like a meteor and bisected what appeared to be a Lambton that was nearly 20m long and had strange vine-like tentacles that kept trying to whip and pierce the two nimble girls.As his [Laevateinn] cut through the creature, Vahn noticed purple blood erupt from its body, acting as a powerful acid that burned into the ground at a very fast rate. It was completely ineffective against his [Laevateinn], but he could tell it would be a very serious issue for normal people to deal with. He sent messages to all the girls, warning them that the blood of the creatures was corrosive so that they wouldn't get caught off guard. He then picked up Shizune and carried her away as she complained, "If you let me use my power, I could have dealt with that monster on my own...!" To this, Vahn just laughed lightly and set her at the top of the plateau, stroking her ears to placate her as he said, "Your power is one of the Alliances most important trump cards in a war. Be patient, Shizune, you'll have plenty of time to show off in the future..."Since she wasn't really that upset, Shizune closed her eyes and simply enjoyed Vahn's caress until a loud explosion erupted, creating what appeared to be a miniature sun that wiped out hundreds of monsters in a single strike. Vahn turned his attention back to the fight and saw Tina walking away from the explosion completely unscathed, even though a large section of the forest was now destroyed in Lefiya's attack. She had one of the highest defenses amongst the girls and, with her [Pactio] and accessories bolstering it even further, Tina was nearly indestructible in 'normal' circumstances...Vahn released a sigh, blinking to Tina's side and using his cleaning magic to pull away the caustic purple blood that was dissolving the majority of her clothes. All of the armor was undamaged but there were several areas of tender skin that had been revealed as Tina showed a bashful expression and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." When he was finished, Vahn ruffled her hair and said, "Make sure to change back to your normal form to reset your raiment..." She nodded her head in response and returned to Lefiya's side as several other explosions sounded in the distance. At the same time, Haruhime's voice echoed in his head, relatively calm even though her message wasn't exactly good news, ("Master, there are a lot of strange caterpillar-like monsters trying to climb up the western side of the plateau.").Though she couldn't see him, Vahn nodded his head and sent an affirmation to Haruhime before turning to Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina, saying, "Try to keep the monsters here at bay. Let me know if you need assistance." The girls nodded in understanding while Chloe brandished her daggers and said, "Nyahaha, leave it to us, Vahn~." As she spoke, Chloe's shadowy mantle completely surrounded her body and she vanished into her own shadow. It then 'bloomed' outward like a spiderweb, paralyzing any monster it came into contact with before Chloe would pop up next to them and slice them apart before vanishing once again.Seeing this, Vahn cracked a smile and pet the heads of Lefiya and Tina, wishing them luck before he moved towards the western side of the plateau. He didn't know if it was because Ais was there, her fate drawing more attention to the location, but there was a veritable ocean of massive caterpillars that were spewing forth streams of acid. The girls dodged them with relative ease, but Vahn could see that it would be very troublesome to fight against such enemies since their acid blood had caused the ground to turn into a murky 'swamp' that was comprised of the large volume of acid that had mixed together and diluted itself after melting through several meters of hard bedrock.Fortunately, Ais, Tiona, and Maemiru were devastating the enemies from the sky while Arnya stood at the top of the plateau, raining explosive spears onto the enemies that would wipe out several tens of them at a time. As for Haruhime, she was also in her [Pactio] raiment but was currently placing her palms against a defensive ward that caused a barrier to erect itself, preventing the streams of acid from affecting the plateau. There were also several dozen Adventurers belonging to the Alliance present but, compared to the girls themselves, their efforts didn't quite stack up...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Fools o3o...','RIP Noble Expedition-san...','Tina's [Luck] never quits...','Don't be mean, Vahn, they are doing their best~!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Dropping down next to Haruhime and Arnya, Vahn placed his palms on the girls' backs and said, "It looks a little troublesome, but I don't think you need my help here..." Though the surrounding area was being devastated, Ais' presence on the battlefield alone had made short work of any of the larger plant-like monsters. As for the strange caterpillars, they were very slow and seemed to lack any significant intelligence as they bumped against each other. They were even devouring those that were injured, showing none of the behavior expected of 'normal' monsters at all...Haruhime's ears twitched and her tails flickered behind her as she said, "I'm sorry, Master, I may have panicked a little after seeing so many enemies..." Vahn nodded his head while Arnya snickered from the side, cutting into the conversation a little as she explained, "Ryuu and Mikoto went to support the southern gate while Lili and Tione went towards the north. What is it like in the regions you've visited? Should I go support another area?" Right now, the western front was the most heavily besieged but, as long as the barrier remained standing, the monsters wouldn't actually be able to climb the plateau's steep sides.Vahn squinted his eyes, watching as Tiona's almost naked body tore through hordes of enemies like they were paper mache. She had already 'evolved' skin that made her immune to the acid and was conserving her energy by fighting with her bare hands and feet. Though her Aegis would have been able to resist the acid relatively easily, her raiment didn't have that property and she was on the verge of being completely naked pretty soon. Since he didn't want anyone gawking at her body, even if it was a state of emergency, Vahn rubbed Arnya's head and said, "Go to the north and help Lili and Tione. Even with Tione's artifact, they lack ranged support..."Arnya nodded her head without any argument and almost immediately vanished from his side with [Shundo], not wasting any time in going to aid the other two girls. As for Vahn, he was also rubbing Haruhime's head and said, "Send a message to Shirohime so she can let-" Haruhime started laughing with an amused expression on her face as she interrupted, saying, "I have already informed everyone back at the Manor. Go help Tiona before she does something shameless~." Being one of the people with the highest Loyalty towards him after becoming his subordinate, Haruhime was able to 'understand' what Vahn was thinking, especially when they were this close.Vahn released an almost silent laugh, tracing his fingers through Haruhime's silky blond hair one last time before taking to the sky and practically 'tackling' the berserk Tiona with a mantle. Since his presence was almost impossible to detect through normal means now, Tiona had panicked a little but quickly calmed down when she felt the familiar energy spreading through her body. She lifted her now feral looking face up, a predatory look in her eyes as she bared her sharp teeth and asked, "Did you want to play, Vahn~?" His response was to trace his fingers along her almost completely exposed skin, coming to a stop near her neck as he said, "Call me jealous...but I don't want other people gawking at your body..."As if she realized just now that she was practically naked, with only her bottom and a part of her top covering one breast still remaining, Tiona 'bashfully' covered herself and began to laugh sheepishly as several spouts of acid crashed ineffectively against the barrier Vahn had created. He helped her reset her 'magical girl' transformation and then gave her one of the spare Aegis sets, helping her put it on while they stood within the air, completely unaffected by the chaos below. When she was finally clothed, Tiona gave Vahn a powerful hug and they shared a long kiss before he lightly pinched her butt and sent her back into the fray.Ais had been splitting her attention on what was going on with Vahn and Tiona so she puffed out her cheeks slightly and telepathically retorted, ("Don't play around in the battlefield, Vahn...") As she said this, a tempest of Spiritual Wing coiled around Ais' body like a hurricane, cutting apart any enemy within 100m from her in an instant. Vahn saw this and sent her a wink, responding with, ("Don't worry, I'll make sure to reward you plentily after this battle ends. Stay on your toes and let me know if you see anything weird...")An almost indiscernible blush touched Ais' cheeks as she nodded her head and returned to the battle in earnest. She, like most of the girls after their 'training evolution', would get heated up after an intense battle. It was probably his fault, as their training in the orb almost always ended with a long bout of intimacy afterward, but Vahn didn't mind helping them relieve their stress after the fact. For the time being, however, Vahn decided to try and bring the current situation under control by using [Shundo] to return to Haruhime's side.Though Lefiya would be the better choice, Haruhime's own prowess as a Mage was rather high, allowing her to cast powerful ice magic that Vahn could use to enhance his [Magia Erebea] transformation. He swapped spots with Haruhime, powering the barrier ward with his Source Energy while Haruhime began 'dancing' as she chanted, "Heed the Contract and Serve Me, oh Queen of Ice! Come, Unending Darkness, Eternal Glacier. Bring Death to All That Has Life, Eternal Rest! Frozen Cosmos~!" This was none other than Eva's [Kosmike Katastrophe], a powerful Forbidden magic spell that Vahn had helped Haruhime emulate after nearly two years of continuous practice. Though it was much weaker than Eva's, it was still able to achieve temperatures of -270 degrees, getting dangerously close to an absolute zero derived from Ice Elemental energies.Vahn absorbed the massive spell that could have easily destroyed Lil Geirr in its entirety, containing the energy within his body as his figure became icy blue with swirling tattoos of pure white energy. The sclera of his eyes became black while his irises glowed with a fierce icy blue that seemed like it could cut through to the bone in an instant, which wasn't far from the truth. His most striking feature, which seemed to be a trend when using Forbidden Magic, was the icy raiment that covered his body, giving him the appearance of an Ice Emperor with a divine garb. There were six icy blades rotating slowly behind his body and a crown had even formed on his head, framing his white hair that had a translucent quality to it...Haruhime had collapsed after using a spell that was beyond her in normal circumstances, as she was only able to cast it while in her [Pactio] form and drawing energy directly from Vahn. He prevented her from falling to the ground by supporting her with his telekinesis, giving her enough time to pull out a mana potion from her interspatial ring and ingest it. At the same time, Vahn helped ease her fatigue, smiling gently as he said, "I'm going to end this..." Haruhime nodded her head, a look of absolute trust on her face as she replied, "Go, Vahn, show them that hell is a very cold place~." Seemingly pleased with her own words, Haruhime giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve as she found her footing and resumed her elegant appearance. If not for the fact she would probably freeze over in an instant, Vahn would have reached out and stroked her ears. Instead, he had to settle with using his [Grooming] through the medium of his domain before taking to the sky once again.In this form, adequately named 'Ice Emperor', Vahn's body carried an immense amount of Ice Elemental energy while his natural body temperature was almost absolute zero. Since he could further enhance the energy in his body with Source, this meant he could freeze the entire 39th Floor if he stopped restraining his aura. As this would kill his allies in normal circumstances, Vahn obviously didn't have this option...at least without proper preparation. He had already sent the order to have everyone retreat into the boundaries of Lil Geirr's walls and, though there were likely a few 'innocents' still remaining within the forest, Vahn brought his hands together as if he were praying.Around a minute after he had ascended several hundred meters above Lil Geirr, a massive barrier came into existence, protecting the entire plateau with a nigh-indestructible magical membrane. Vahn knew he could shatter it if he attacked directly but that wasn't really his goal so he instead slowly pulled his hands apart and allowed the energy he had been nourishing inside of his body to begin escaping. The surrounding temperature dropped so quickly that a layer of ice actually spread across the barrier protecting Lil Geirr and made a dome as it instantaneously dropped to a temperature infinitely close to absolute zero. By the time Vahn's hands had completely separated outwards, consuming a great deal of his energy in the process, the entire floor had now turned into a crystallized ice forest. All of the strange monsters were now statues that had been frozen in time while anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the forest joined them...Vahn allowed himself to slowly drop from the sky until his feet came to rest on top of the icy dome he had created, so cold and durable that it could easily support his weight. He stood there with his eyes closed and allowed his energy to slowly replenish while still maintaining his Ice Emperor form. Since his instincts hadn't settled down, Vahn knew this fight wasn't over just yet and, as if on a divine cue, a powerful rumbling began to shake the entire Floor. Since it was more than 100km in diameter, Vahn's senses couldn't accurately identify the source but he got his answer a few moments later when the crystals lighting up the Floor overhead suddenly turned dark.As it was nowhere near evening time, this was very unnatural and Vahn's instincts flared up in an instant, just as the massive building-sized crystals overhead began to fall down from the ceiling. Some of these crystals would easily weigh tens-of-thousands of tonnes, causing the hairs on the back of Vahn's neck to raise as he bolted towards the falling crystals and began smashing them apart into smaller pieces. If the barrier below suffered a direct hit from a crystal weighing millions of kilograms, it wouldn't last very long at all. He needed to break them down into much smaller pieces for the barrier to be able to withstand the brunt but, just as this plan of action was affirmed within his mind, several explosions sounded in the surrounding icy forest.At all four cardinal directions of Lil Geirr, massive flowering plants that were nearly 100m tall emerged, each containing a flower bud that was around 20m tall and 10m in diameter. These flowers immediately began to bloom, revealing four vaguely humanoid figures that lacked eyes and had massive toothy maws. It almost looked like they were wearing masks as they immediately released roars that could shake the souls of mortal men to the core. Unfortunately, Vahn could only spare a brief glance towards them, confirming they were some strange derivative of Viscum that had humanoid traits. He then tried to release more icy energy from his body to freeze them over but this immediately drained what little remained of his reserves, turning him back into his normal form as he quickly pulled out a [Max Ether] and ingested it.Though he had been relatively calm the last few days, Vahn was actually beginning to feel a little excited as the 'ocean' within him began to turn chaotic and swell, creating massive waves that crashed against each other. Using the 'bomb' that had been brought along by the Noble Faction, Vahn sent it veering towards the collapsing crystals and detonated it with an explosive arrow, causing a large explosion that, sadly, didn't do much to the falling crystals. This caused Vahn to laugh as he sent a telepathic message to the girls so they knew to deal with the four strange creatures while he created a 'web' using [Enkidu].Even with their massive weight, the moment the crystals came into contact with [Enkidu] their momentum was stopped almost completely. Though the golden chains deformed slightly, and Vahn felt like his brain nearly split apart, he still managed a smile as cracks began to emerge on his skin. He might not have been able to divert them with the explosion, heck, it even caused 'more' crystals to rain down, but Vahn didn't care at all. With [Enkidu] buying him a small window, Vahn completed his Zhuque transformation and launched himself towards the crystals as a sphere of vermillion flames erupted from his body. He expanded this sphere until it almost completely filled his domain, creating a vermillion 'sun' in the sky that was more than 2k wide.The heat from this 'sun' was enough to instantaneously shatter all of the frozen sculptures below as the crystals supported by [Enkidu] began to melt down almost instantly. Vahn tossed some of the smaller chunks into his Inventory, selling them into his system for some extra OP, as the temperature within the 39th Floor was rapidly climbing. Even the four strange monsters had curled up their petals in a protective measure while the girls that had gone to engage them protected themselves with Vahn's own magic power. This caused his reserves to drain even faster, making Vahn only able to maintain his Zhuque form for around twenty seconds before he had to transition back to normal.Most of the crystals overhead were now nonexistent, having melted into molten crystal that crashed against the barrier surrounding Lil Geirr before sliding off and pooling around the perimeter. This made the fortress look like an island floating in the middle of 'lava' but Vahn didn't really have the time to worry about that as he ingested several other expensive potions and dealt with the remnant crystals that were still weighing heavily on his [Enkidu]. The girls had already engaged three of the strange creatures, with Ais alone going towards the one to the south. She looked like a green laser that created a perfect line through the sky and, even though the monster had created a very intricate looking barrier, Ais' [Ariel] cut through it like paper.Vahn realized he didn't really have anything to worry about, asking Ais to come and give him a hand while the other girls got some practical experience fighting the titanic enemies. She very quickly obliged and, with the vortex of energy surrounding her body, managed to reduce the remnant crystals into scraps as Vahn released a peal of wry laughter. He stored the chunks into his Inventory and watched as Tiona 'dive bombed' one of the large monsters with Lili as a projectile. Her fist shattered through the barrier protecting the monster in an instant and, even though it seemed like the monster was extremely shock resistant, Lili's attack still annihilated its upper body. Once the core was exposed, a projectile spear smashed directly into it and created a large explosion that dispersed the strange monster into a cloud of black and yellow energy.The other two fights were going rather smoothly as well, with Lefiya sending a mass telepathic message, communicating that the monsters seemed drawn to magic while also having no resistance to it. Almost immediately after that, the Variant-Viscum to the west was impaled by dozens of icy projectiles before Mikoto vaulted through the air and created a sword wound nearly 30m in length that bisected the upper third of the monster. To the east, where Lefiya had been located, another massive explosion occurred that created a pure white sphere of magical energy. By the time the brilliant flash of light had cleared away, there wasn't a single sign any enemy had been present in the first place...This seemed like the end of things but, just as Tiona happily communicated, ("Yay, we won~!"), it was almost as if the world itself was mocking her as another loud roar sounded throughout the entire Floor. Vahn released a sigh as Tiona's awkward laughter sounded inside his mind before she said, ("Sorry...?") Then, just as Vahn was about to tell her not to mind it, a very powerful 'intent' locked onto him that caused his head to naturally turn, eyes focusing to a point as a skeletal black creature that had a demonic skull affixed with two pitch black horns locked eyes with him...Unlike the one he had seen in the past, this monster had a pure black body and possessed an aura stronger than almost anything else Vahn had ever experienced before, with only the Divinity of gods and the True Dragon Aura from Terra outclassing it. The most striking feature, besides the 'too thin' limbs that strangely seemed to contain infinite power, were the scarlet red goat eyes that looked toward him, almost as if there was recognition contained within. This was a feeling Vahn shared as well, causing a fear he had long forgotten to well up inside him as he muttered, "Juggernaut...it's a Variant Juggernaut...!"(A/N: Don't jump (&gt;,....,&lt;)~!)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Haruhime just wanted headpats...','Ice Emperor, Vermillion Bird','Tiona should be the flagbearer in the group...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Though Gros' actions had caused a bit of tension amongst some of the Xenos, typically those that were a bit older than the others, things quickly evolved into a more celebratory atmosphere. Vahn brought out delicious food and some mild alcoholic beverages, though the latter was reserved for the more humanoid members. He quickly learned that the physical appearance of the Xenos didn't have much to do with their age, as there were even Xenos like a Mermaid girl named Marie who had the appearance of a fully matured woman, even though she was only six years old.Their form was apparently completely random and, with the exception of a few species, none of them aged a day after their 'second birth' from the Dungeon's walls. Vahn also got to learn a lot about each of their pasts and, without exception, it seemed that most Xenos became as such after interacting with humans and developing bonds in their previous lives. Even Lyd wasn't an exception to this, admitting that he had been a Lizardman who met a powerful warrior from the Far East in his previous life and had been inspired to grow stronger after narrowly escaping. From that day onward, Lyd had trained hard and tried to emulate the techniques used by the Eastern Samurai, all the way up until their final duel that claimed his life. When he had awoken again, he was in the Dungeon and had developed intelligence comparable to a human, but could now no longer walk upon the surface in pursuit of his 'dream' of being a proud warrior recognized by others...Of course, not all of the reasons were positive, while some were outright strange and borderline unbelievable. Vahn had very quickly noticed that the majority of Xenos seemed to be female, while those that had humanoid features even as monsters had been lusted after and even developed relationships with people in their past lives. Not all of these relationships were willing, however, which is why Rayne was so hostile towards surface-dwellers. All Xenos were the same species as they had been in their first lives and, after being severely weakened by a group of Adventurers in the past, Rayne ended up taking her own life when they tried to ravish her body. When she was reborn in the Dungeon, more intelligent than she had been in the past, Rayne became a cold and distant Xenos who was completely untrusting of surface dwellers...As for what some people referred to as the 'bird-brain' group, they had very different pasts compared to Rayne and some of them enjoyed very intimate, albeit short, relationships with men in the past. Unfortunately, these positive experiences became the bane that resulted in their deaths, though none of them seemed to mind it that much. Their leader was, of course, the Siren-Xenos, Ray, and she had a group of seven Harpy-Subspecies who all shared the same residence. Among them was Terror, who was the speckle pattern of a falcon, a Xenos named Fear, who had dark red hair, similarly colored feathers, and striking blue eyes.The other four Xenos in their group had the appearance of normal Harpies, with the upper bodies of women, somewhat 'uncanny' facial expressions, sharp teeth, and shorter limbs. Three of them couldn't even speak any discernable words, though Vahn had been able to understand their speech easily, surprising the group and making him very popular in an instant. Though he got scratched up a bit by their talons and claws, it was mainly his clothes that suffered the brunt of their affections, drawing attention to his regeneration and sparking conversations about Vahn himself.Without revealing too many secrets, Vahn gave his 'background' information to the Xenos, including how he had been exploited and experimented on for having unique blood. This resonated heavily with many of them, as they were also persecuted for being 'different', even though they almost avoided conflict in its entirety. Since they were also very empathetic towards people that were similar to them, regardless of appearances, a lot of the more innocent Xenos opened up to Vahn very quickly after the revelations of what he had gone through. By the end of his personal recounting of events, Vahn was practically surrounded by Xenos who seemed to be trying to comfort him, causing Vahn to return the favor and literally 'bask' in system notifications...Though none of their Affection broke through 99, Vahn noticed that many of the Xenos had the (Kin) and (Familia Love) parameter, with only a few having the (Exalted). It seemed that the normal Xenos were simply happy to have a new family member while the more humanoid Xenos, who certainly had the highest base intelligence, were those that had more complex emotions. Lyd and Ray both had the (Exalted) bracket parameter and this was shared by most of the Xenos he had saved from Knossos. The only exception was the small Almiraj that he had carried along the way, who finally introduced itself as Mlem. It had developed a strange parameter that he hadn't seen before and Vahn was curious if there would be any changes to his Unit Management if he managed to get it to 100 Affection without changing its feelings...----------------------------------------------------------------------[(Nameless)]: Affection: 99(Constancy), Intrigue: 81(Very Curious)----------------------------------------------------------------------After the 'party' began dying down, as many Xenos were beginning to grow tired and drowsy, Lyd swished around the contents of his glass and said, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want, Vahn. Though there have been some troubles lately, the Xenos will never turn away a friend...!" Vahn, covered in sleeping Xenos to the point that only his upper body could be seen, smiled in return and said, "I told my family that I will probably be in the Dungeon for a few days and there are a lot of things we still need to talk about. As for the troubles that have been happening...well, you can leave that to us to take care of. Now that I'm here, I'm not going to just watch the Xenos suffer any longer..."Lyd began laughing boisterously while some of the Xenos curled up around Vahn began to stir slightly and snuggle up closer to him. Even Fenrir, who had taken on a strange form that looked like a cross between a wolf pup and an Almiraj, was curled up on top of his head like a hat. Vahn had to sit ramrod straight to avoid accidentally knocking her off, especially since he knew she was a little upset with how much 'attention' he was getting from others. As for Fafnir, it had long ago fallen asleep while laying on the back of Green Dragon Xenos named Gryuu. The latter had immediately assumed a subservient position and had been 'waiting' upon Fafnir for the entire afternoon, now serving as the latter's bed...Once he had finished laughing, Lyd emptied the contents of his glass and had what Vahn could only assume was a teasing look as he asked, "So, we can fix you up a place to stay, or you can hole up in one of the other residences. Most of us stick with our own species for comfort but I think they might make an exception if you want to sleep in the same place~." In response to this, it wasn't Vahn who answered but the small Mlem, who apparently represented the more than a dozen Almiraj present as it exclaimed, "Vahn will stay with us~! We have plenty of space!"Since almost every Almiraj-Xenos was 'piled' up around him, they seemed to agree with Mlem as many of them began to wake up. It wasn't just them, however, as things quickly started to become chaotic within the large open area where they had been celebrating. This caused Lyd to laugh even more while Vahn just showed a calm expression as he thought about if there was a 'best' place to sleep. There were certainly a few 'dangerous' places, as he was certain the Bird-Type Xenos would probably get carried away if he joined them in their nest. The Almiraj were a pretty 'safe' choice, and they were all very adorable and fluffy, but Vahn felt that Fenrir would actually be more bothered by this fact than if he were to stay with the Bird-Types...As he was thinking this, Vahn sensed something enter into his perception so he tilted his head forward and cradled Fenrir in his arms as a thick and sticky strand of silk latched onto his back. Then, in front of the shocked and complaining group of Xenos, Vahn was pulled from the pile of fluffy and reeled in towards the canopy house near the roof. He already knew it was Rayne that had reeled him in, likely at the request of Naho who had been absent from the celebration. Though it would certainly be an 'experience' to cuddle up with an Arachne-Xenos for the night, Naho's fur was actually very soft and Vahn knew she would probably cry if he refused...assuming she could cry...?Though she had 'tossed' him rather roughly, Vahn landed nimbly on his feet as Rayne severed the threads and began using her spinnerettes to break down and reabsorb the silk into her body. At the same time, she was 'glaring' towards him with her red eyes, now bereft of the visored helmet she had worn previously. She didn't have the chance to say anything, however, as Naho had 'jumped' on Vahn and immediately started clinging to him as she happily giggled and said, "Vahn, you can stay here with us. Since you already played with everyone else, play with Naho and Bigger Sis now~!"Vahn didn't mind that Naho was clinging to his body but he still frowned slightly and asked, "Naho, what happened to your dress...?" Currently, she was only wearing the white silk sports bra he had given her while the 'panel' protecting her delicates was also on full display. He also noticed that her body temperature didn't seem to generate much heat and she instead felt a little 'cool' to the touch. As for why she was no longer wearing her dress, this was revealed by Rayne who averted her eyes to the side, an expression of guilt on her face as she said, "I'm sorry...I got curious..."Naho just laughed as if she weren't affected by the fact her dress had gotten ripped by Rayne and said, "It's okay, Naho isn't used to wearing clothes anyway. I'm sure Bigger Sis will be able to fix it with a bit of practice~!" She then began to nuzzle against Vahn, seemingly unconcerned about the loss of the dress she had been so excited about previously. Vahn lightly patted her head before, once again, 'peeling' her away from his body as he said, "It is important for a young lady to wear proper clothing. There are a lot of people that would see your normal appearance and try to steal you away...when you live on the surface, you will have to be very careful, okay, Naho...?"Since she had been enjoying the head-patting with her eyes closed, Naho simply nodded her head with an 'Nn', making Vahn feel a little worried about the young spiderling. He wasn't sure about her age but, based on how she was acting, Vahn felt like she was a child. The appearance of her 'humanoid' self matched this mental image and Vahn couldn't help but feel worried that she might be taken advantage of by others in the future. Fortunately, she had an 'experienced' Bigger Sis named Rayne who had a fierce expression on her face as she said, "If anyone tries to lay their filthy hands on my Little Naho, I will spin them into a caccoon and hang them upside down until the blood flow makes their head burst...!"Vahn, still patting Naho, returned a smile to Rayne and playfully mused, "Please don't hang me upside down, Rayne...I would never even think about harming your precious Naho..." This caused Rayne to show a complex expression and it didn't seem like she knew what to say. Naho, however, tried to jump on his body and cling to him again but Vahn managed to catch her by her armpits. She was apparently very ticklish as she began to squirm about, saying, "Big Brother, hahaha, put me down, hahahaha~!" When he complied with this request, Vahn could swear he saw a 'glimmer' in Naho's eyes as she once again jumped into his chest, clinging even tighter to him this time as she said, "Big Brother would never hurt Naho~!"Rayne, seeing the 'exasperation' on Vahn's face because of Naho's clinginess began to chuckle almost inaudibly. When he turned his attention towards her, she felt very flustered and immediately 'fixed' her expression as she 'hmphed' and said, "Out of consideration for Naho, I'll let you and that furry creature stay in our home...be grateful..." The 'furry creature' she was talking about was the still-transformed Fenrir, who was currently giving a deadpan stare towards Naho. When she heard Rayne's words, however, Fenrir turned her attention towards the mature Arachne-Xenos and said, "It is better to be honest. Master will be troubled if you are roundabout and act foolishly..."Given the fact that Fenrir was currently around the size of a large rabbit, and looked incredibly adorable, her words weren't as impactful as they could have been. Rayne, however, tensed up greatly when Fenrir's eyes trained on her, the result of her developed instincts warning her of impending doom once again. If she could sweat, Rayne's skin would undoubtedly be covered with a glossy sheen as Fenrir's scarlet red eyes bored holes into her mental state. Vahn managed to get Naho off of him once again, this time picking up the cute Fenrir as a means of 'protection' as he began stroking her fluffy ears and said, "This is Fenrir, one of my most important companions. She might come off as a little abrasive at times, but she is really a good girl...one of the best..."Naho didn't seem to entirely agree with this, as her five eyes trained on Fenrir with a slight pout apparent on her face. As for Rayne, she just nodded her head in understanding, hugging her body somewhat self-consciously before inclining her head towards what looked like a 'nest' made of web. It wasn't the kind that was sticky and clung to objects, but a very fine silky structure that almost seemed like a caccoon that could fit a few people comfortably. With Naho and Rayne, however, Vahn imagined it would be a little cramped and wondered if he should pull out a bed and just use that instead. This thought prompted a very different one to cross his mind and, with the half-naked Naho's presence a constant reminder, Vahn pulled out some clothes for the two Arachne-Xenos.This time, Vahn selected a simple white sundress for Naho and handed it over to the little jumping spider before turning his attention to the very flustered Rayne who shied away and said, "I'm fine with this..." Her current armor was just a bunch of plating that had been sewn together to protect her vitals, leaving several parts of her pale white flesh exposed. Since she also had rather large breasts, on the upper end of a C-Cup, this meant there was a fair amount of skin showing at the sides of the plating that barely kept them contained. Vahn was accustomed to girls wearing skimpy clothing, but Rayne's didn't exactly fit the bill, nor could it truly reach the 'standard' of actual clothing...Since she had an exotic appearance and was actually quite beautiful above the waist, Vahn decided that a black Kimono might suit Rayne. He purchased one from the system shop and noticed it actually had the motif of a spider sewn into it, an aesthetic choice that The Path seemed to make on its own. Vahn also purchased her a set of undergarments to wear and walked over to Rayne, even though she was halfway up the wall as she tried to 'escape'. Vahn issued a soft smile when he saw how cautious he was and decided to use his trump card, gesturing Naho over and handing the garments to her. With the smaller Xenos' insistence, Rayne didn't have a choice in the matter and eventually changed into the surprisingly suitable clothing before Vahn got to experience the admittedly disconcerting event of sharing a soft caccoon-like bed with two Spider-Girls...he was able to comfort himself by mentally commenting about how 'soft' the very clingy Naho's fur was...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'So, the Xenos are essentially created...because of fetishes...?','Fluffy Pile of Happiness','Oh god...I got weirded out just imagining this scene...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 823: Conflict