Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

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

Unlike a normal Juggernaut, the one was around 8m tall while slouched over, having a length of nearly twenty meters with its snaking, whip-like tail. With its black coloration, the strange runes spread across its body, and the bloodthirsty aura radiating from it scarlet red eyes, it gave off a very intimidating presence. Vahn, however, felt a powerful excitement begin to replace the momentary fear that had welled up within him as he sent a telepathic message to the girls, ("Protect Lil Geirr. Haruhime, use your [Uchide no Kozuchi] on Ais, Tiona, Ryuu, and Arnya. Maemi, Emiru, Chloe, take Shizune and Tina back to the central fortification and protect my daughter. Do not let her come out...!")Vahn knew that magic would almost be useless against even a normal Juggernaut so he wanted Haruhime to boost those that had powerful physical capabilities and ranged attacks. At the same time, he was considering if this would be a chance to push his body to the limits and trigger his Azure Dragon transformation. If Alexa managed to catch sight of that form, Vahn was worried that her body would 'activate' in a similar manner to her Mother's. Since he couldn't give her what she 'needed', there was a chance that Alexa may end up losing her mind as even Terra had barely managed to withstand the anxiety associated with 'failing' to produce a fertilized egg...At the same time that the girls followed his orders, Vahn pulled out his [Yoichi Bow], nocking a [Yi] arrow onto its string, immediately 'triggering' the Juggernaut to release a terrifyingly shrill howl. In the next moment, Vahn felt color draining from the world as the Juggernaut arched its back before kicking against the ground and making the entire Floor shudder when it moved forward. Vahn's eyes widened and he immediately dropped down to intercept the charging monstrosity, now moving so fast that the entire world seemed stagnant in comparison. This wouldn't have been that bothersome in a direct confrontation, but the fact the Juggernaut was charging towards Lefiya's group made Vahn's brain buzz.Vahn was immediately regretting that he hadn't taken the time to transform into his 'Lightning Emperor' form, as it felt like he was moving through a super-dense liquid as he moved to try and intercept the seemingly unstoppable monster. It had to be moving more than 20,000km/h and each step caused a pillar of debris to erupt into the sky, long after it had moved away from where it had stepped. From the perspective of a normal person, they could only see a black shadow that left two red trails for its eyes as it barreled towards Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina.Though he wasn't sure when he had formed the thought in his own mind, Vahn extended three links of [Enkidu] to block the Juggernaut's path while practically screaming within the girls' minds to fall back, even though they had already been moving towards Lil Geirr. When he saw the Juggernaut jump through the air, twisting its skeletal frame to completely bypass the three chains, Vahn felt like a bomb had been set off within his mind. The world instantly lost all color, with even the Juggernaut and Vahn himself coming to a stop. However, slowly but surely, Vahn was 'tearing' through space and time in order to intercept the Juggernaut's path, even as his own body was shattered into pieces and regenerating.By the time color had returned to the world, Vahn had managed to move to the front of the Juggernaut, pulling out a massive shield that was 'literally' named [Aegis] with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. The Juggernaut's body smashed into the shield and caused a powerful shockwave to spread out for hundreds of meters, sending the girls back until Chloe picked up Shizune and Tina, diving into the shadows and moving at an insane speed towards Lil Geirr. Lefiya used [Cantus Bellax] to create a protective membrane around her body and brought out her wings, fleeing with her fastest speed as Vahn stored away [Aegis] and swung [Laevateinn] across the Juggernaut's maw.As his blade cut through the air in a smooth arc, Vahn felt time slowing to a crawl once again as the Juggernaut 'ducked' under [Laevateinn]'s trajectory before biting forward with its Dragon-like skull. Though he already knew this to be the case, the evasive maneuver and counterattack of the Juggernaut made it very obvious the creature was far faster than his base form. Vahn felt like he was moving in slow motion while the Juggernaut was moving at a normal speed, even though his mind was able to keep up. It was with this clarity that Vahn put away [Laevateinn], pulled out a small golden nail, and allowed the Juggernaut to bite down on his body while driving the anti-immortal tool into the monster's eye.There was a protective membrane that tried to prevent Vahn's attack from driving forward, but it did absolutely nothing to stop the relatively simply looking nail. The Juggernaut's teeth clamped down around his body, but Vahn just began laughing as it howled in pain, thrashing about and trying to tear his body apart. Even when Vahn's upper body was separated from his goody bits, the light in his eyes didn't fade in the slightest, instead, growing much more powerful as his blood swirled and regenerated his form in milliseconds. He had already pulled out his [Laevateinn] again and cut forward, intending to chop off the Juggernaut's head as the monster's razor sharp claws cut towards him.Vahn was beginning to get annoyed with the Juggernaut's speed and tried to defend himself with his Xuanwu form while contracting his domain in an attempt to pressure the enraged monster. Though this did have an effect, it was negligible in the long run as the four blade-like claws of the Juggernaut still diced through his body as if his transformation offered him no benefits. Following behind this attack, the Juggernaut's tail cut forward with such speed that it left a black trail behind it, cutting through the void. Vahn hadn't fully regenerated as a black 'blade' of energy separated his body once again, this time followed up by the Juggernaut's overhead sweep as it tried to crush his mangled body into the ground. (A/N: Fast boi.)Unable to resist the difference in speed and power, Vahn was smashed into the ground with enough force to lodge him nearly 30m into the durable bedrock of the Dungeon's Floor. This surrounding area was devastated, sinking several meters like a meteor had struck the ground as a large dust explosion reached hundreds of meters into the air. Following this, the Juggernaut released another blood-curdling howl that dispersed the cloud in an instant before he balled up its fists and began to beat at the Dungeon's Floor, intent on completely crushing Vahn to paste. It could sense that Vahn was still alive and was determined to destroy him completely, the shared memories of its kin playing through its mind. Unlike normal monsters, Juggernauts had a shared consciousness that allowed them to better protect the Dungeon from destructive forces. It could still 'remember' having its head blown apart, and the indignation it had felt during their last encounter...In the midst of the Juggernaut's enraged assault, a resplendent column of light tore through the sky, impacting the monster's body before it had any time to react at all. Even with its ultrasonic speed, dodging and attack that could reach nearly a third the speed of light was nearly impossible. As a result, this column struck true, smashing into the Juggernaut's body as it released a shrill groan and did its best to protect itself. The durable black carapace-like skin began to fracture and tear away, revealing a scarlet red interior that began to sizzle under the influence of the powerful energy. By the time the beam had cleared away, nearly a third of the Juggernaut's body was now shimmering with a red light as a look of absolute hatred was directed towards the source of the light, none other than Ryuu and her artifact, 'Meteoron Imber'.Just as it was about to charge towards the brave Elven woman, the Juggernaut was impacted on its blind side as Ais shouted, "Lil Ragna~!" Appearing very similar to Ryuu's attack, Ais was like a focused tempest as her Spiritual Wind tore into the left side of the Juggernaut's face, tearing away the bone-like structure of its head and revealing even more bloody scarlet below. As for its eye, it had been turned into a wispy paste that was completely disintegrated by Ais' attack as her [Gram] tried to destroy the head in its entirety.Instead of resisting against the attack, the Juggernaut twisted its body and only lost a portion of its skull as Ais barreled forward and carved a large scar across the land. She brandished her sword, shifting her weight to make a second attack as her wings of light kept her stabilized within the air. By the time she had turned back, however, there was a massive red beam completely filling her vision, barely giving her enough time to shield herself with the sword in her hands. The beam collided against the tempestuous energy around Ais' body, the majority of it being deflected away from her body and causing deep crevasses to decimate the landscape. As for the rest of the energy, it crashed against the indestructible [Gram] while also being broken down by the magical aura protecting Ais' body.Though the attack had forced her back until she had slammed into the far wall, several kilometers away, Ais was ultimately unscathed and immediately darted forward at a speed much greater than the Juggernaut's. If not for the fact that this speed relied on her to move in a single direction, Ais would have been able to get a big advantage against the massive creature. Unfortunately, the Juggernaut's speed wasn't the type based on momentum and was just pure agility, giving it greater flexibility as it dodged the second strike from the seemingly unstoppable Sword Goddess. It then tried to whip her with its tail but ultimately hit nothing but air as Ais was already long gone from that spot and preparing her third strike.Since it couldn't fly, the Juggernaut released an indignant roar and began to channel energy from its mouth once again, only to find another star-powered, meteor-like arrow impacting its body. This time, the Juggernaut rolled to try and get under the attack but ended up losing an arm in the process as it began to rage about, using a massive slab of the Dungeon Floor to try and shield itself. Its arm had already started to regenerate mere moments later and it wanted to buy enough time to completely recover before destroying the annoying insects that brought it so much pain. The fact that no attacks came during the time it was recovering made the Juggernaut feel a sadistic glee, even though it was still very annoyed that it's left eye, stabbed through by Vahn, hadn't recovered.Using its senses, which enabled it to detect almost everything on the Floor, the Juggernaut pushed against the massive bedrock slab and used it as a shield to plow towards Lil Geirr. It didn't get far, however, as golden chains barred its passage and completely halted its momentum. Recognizing these chains, a moment of clarity passed through the Juggernaut's mind, almost at the same time that its head was completely separated from its body. It could see itself still pushing against the stone as the world spun around, at least until a flash of brilliant whitish blue light appeared in the periphery of its vision.Vahn grabbed the tumbling head out of the air and buried his fingers into its harder-than-Adamantine flesh, staring into the remaining eye as he said, "I feel like I owe you a great debt...the next time you are reborn, let's settle it in full...!" Then, just as the Juggernaut seemed like it was going to howl out once again, even though it didn't even have a windpipe anymore, the light faded from its eyes and it nearly burst into dust before Vahn tossed the head into his Inventory. Ais had buried her [Gram] into the exposed core of the Juggernaut and Vahn wanted to see what would happen to a monster part that was kept for an extended period of time in stasis. He had already noticed that there was something very 'wrong' about the Juggernaut this time around and also wanted to see if the system could analyze it...What was left after the Juggernaut faded away was an assortment of monster cores but, Vahn noticed there was an encroaching yellow coloration on many of them. This helped to confirm his suspicions somewhat and he was certain everything had all been a plan executed by Enyo's forces. The fact that the crystals had fallen and nearly crushed Lil Geirr were enough 'damage' to the Dungeon to trigger the spawn of a Juggernaut. Though it was still serving the purpose of the Dungeon's 'cleaner', it was very obvious that the monster had come under the partial influence of Enyo using a method that had yet come to light. She seemed to have the ability to mutate and produce plant-like monsters that were far more powerful than normal. At the same time, there were several strange variants beginning to pop up, showing that their methods were beginning to influence normal monsters...or, as Vahn was beginning to fear, Xenos...After dropping down next to Ais, Vahn gave the beautiful girl a loving embrace, holding her tightly against his chest and stroking her silky golden hair. Unlike normal, however, Ais had a slightly complex expression as she said, "Vahn, we have to return to Lil Geirr..." These words set something off in Vahn's mind and he had to release Ais before he put too much power into his grip, asking, "What happened...?" Ais held up her hands in a placating manner before a very different voice answered his question, entering into Vahn's mind as the synchronous voice of Maemiru, ("Master, we captured an enemy who tried to attack Rufina. Alexa protected her and we managed to subdue him.")Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself when he heard this, asking, ("Did anyone get hurt...?"). This question was followed by a moderately terrifying period of silence before Maemiru replied, ("There were several people killed, but Alexa, Rufina, and Shakti are all okay...") Vahn could hear an apologetic tone in Maemiru's voice and he knew she was probably blaming herself for their deaths. At the same time, however, Vahn felt greatly relieved as he informed the girls he was on his way back, looting all of the Juggernaut's drops before flying along with Ais. Since the Juggernaut couldn't actually answer his questions, Vahn was hoping the person they had captured was slightly more 'understanding' when it came time for questioning...though, even if they weren't, Vahn was confident they would eventually talk...he was quite sure of it...(A/N: Lightning Emperor [Magia Erebea] is just too OP xD...)(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Breaking through space, time, and limits...!','Haruhime, Ryuu, and Ais MVP. Vahn is just a Kill-Stealer...','Don't anger the calm boi o_o...!')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

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

Chapter 824: Trap