Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

While Vahn was naturally recuperating on the 60th Floor, he had exited the Sub-Space orb on the surface to let the girls know what was going on. They had actually expected it to take several days for him to reach the 60th Floor so, learning that he was already 'saving' some of Enyo's captives, Loki, in particular, was very surprised. None of them were actually surprised by the fact that Enyo was keeping captives, however, even though Vahn only explained the truth of the matter to Loki herself. She quickly set about arranging a place for the majority of the victims to stay while the High Spirit and Demigoddesses would be tended to in a more secure location. Vahn also called Gros to his side, explaining the situation so they could facilitate the addition of seven more Xenos into their community. He actually expected the Xenos to recover much quicker than the other victims, as the Xenos community, in general, had a very therapeutic effect on the heart and mind...Most of these arrangements had been made in only fifteen minutes, as it was something of an emergency situation that needed to be dealt with quickly. Vahn had Emiru and Maemi take some of the other Maids to organize beds using the large training area on the north side of the Manor which, to this day, had gone unused. It had more than enough room for a hundred gurneys to be lined up side-by-side while Naaza and Preasia showed the girls how to prepare an Elixir-drip. After entrusting that matter to the girls, Vahn had ended up in the clearing next to Yggy's tree, learning of the situation on the 50th Floor while also updating Terra on the situation on the 60th.Terra didn't actually have enough mana to break through 60 Floors of the Dungeon with her [Void Movement], as even passing through twenty-four Floors had been very taxing. Vahn, however, had stored over 30 of the [Source Energy Crystals] in his Inventory and, at the very least, she should be able to make 30 jumps with them alone. For the rest, Vahn cut open his palm and filled several potion bottles with his actual blood, giving them to Terra to store in her spatial ring to refill her own mana. The crystals were more practical to use, as she could instantly use the energy contained within to power the teleportation, while the blood would allow her to quickly replenish her reserves while Vahn returned to the Sub-Space orb to act a battery for himself within the Dungeon. If necessary, he would further supplement her energy with his avatar but, for the time being, these steps should suffice for the purpose of transportation...By the time all his preparations had been completed, less than a half-hour had passed when Vahn called Terra to his side with Unit Management. He noticed a 'shift' in the Dungeon's mana flow but it didn't prevent Terra from creating a magic circle with one of the [Source Energy Crystals] in her hand, transporting the High Spirit and the two Demigoddesses back with her. Though Vahn wouldn't devalue the lives of others, the three were inarguably the higher priority targets to evacuate in this circumstance. As if to verify this, Enyo's voice somewhat angrily sounded in his mind, ("Vahn Mason, you are beginning to try my patience. If you're not going to play with me, I'm not going to keep following the rules either, you know...?")Squinting his eyes, Vahn stated in an icy voice, "This isn't a game, Enyo. What you have done here is beyond recompense. When I find you...". In response to this, an eerie laugh sounded in Vahn's mind before Enyo responded, ("You're making such a big deal out of something so small...I had thought you were closer to a god than a mortal but it seems you have disappointed me, Vahn Mason. Can you not see that I gave these people a greater purpose...? Yes, they may have gone through hardship from the perspective of mortals, but it is only a few years of misery before they have the privilege of returning to the cycle of reincarnation. Their imprisonment is nothing compared to what we gods have experienced...no matter how much I make them suffer, it will not even amount to a fraction of what we have experienced...!")While continually calling Terra to his side so that she could move even more people away, Vahn snorted in response to Enyo's words, asking, "Is that what this is about, Enyo? You're envious of mortals and now want to destroy the surface world to vent? If you already understand they will simple reincarnate in the future, why even go through all this trouble? If you're so fed up with the lot you've been given, why don't you just let your existence fade away so that someone else can take up the mantle of Divinity...? You are just a mad and errant god, even if your Divinity had led you down this path..."This time, Enyo's laughter sounded like someone who had completely lost their mind before she loudly exclaimed, ("You know nothing, Vahn Mason! See, that is how mortals view the world, using their own limited understanding of the situation to pass judgment on others! Your mentality is exactly the same as every other tyrant who believes they can shape the world to their liking, only to lead it to ruin and stagnation in the end when your petty greed gets the better of you...! Even if you spent thousands of years trying to understand the greater purpose I aspire towards, you will never be able to see beyond your own limited perspective! What you're doing isn't fixing the world, it's making the world into your own personal playground!")Hearing Enyo's outburst, Vahn furrowed his brows, saying, "I'm trying to make a world where people can be happy. Even if my goals are selfish, I'm doing my best to prevent tragedies like what you've created here. No matter how you try to spin your madness to make it sound like logic, the fact you can't do anything without bringing harm and suffering to others shows how limited your own perspective is..." This time, Enyo's laughter was more moderated as she asked, ("And how is what you're doing any different, Vahn Mason? How many people have you killed? How many have suffered because of your actions, or your inaction? Every 'evil' person you've ever put to the blade was someone that became that way through circumstance and because they opposed the world view you have in mind, you killed them without remorse...tell me, what can YOU do without bringing harm and suffering to others...?")Vahn shook his head, a look of pure condemnation on his face as he retorted, "It is too easy to draw parallels between people, especially when you're acting to justify your monstrous actions. There is no true comparison between someone that takes lives to limit the suffering of others and someone that causes suffering just to take more lives. No matter how you try and spin it, they are fundamentally different things, something your egocentric mentality will never understand. My actions would lead to a world of general prosperity where the path towards greatness is open to everyone...yours would only lead to pain, destruction, and death...the fact you even try to compare us is sickening...!"For several seconds after he had finished speaking, Vahn heard 'nothing' within his mind before Enyo's voice sounded out in an icy monotone, ("You know nothing, Vahn Mason...your mindset is only possible because of your limited lifespan. I have lived for eons, watching the continuous cycle in both Heaven and the Mortal World. The natural state of the world is chaos and, by trying to resist this cycle, you would lead the world to ruin. Your plan sounds fine now, but what will you do when the population explodes? How will you deal with the innate nature of sentient creatures to seek war with each other? How do you prevent greed from running rampant and corrupting society? What will you do when resources run low, or when sickness begins to spread due to overpopulation? Will you slowly expand until the surface is completely covered with people, continuing outwards to conquer the seas, islands, and even other Continents? Your world view is restricted to a few thousand years of time passing, while the three realms will continue to exist for eons further...you call me a mad and errant god, but the number of people that we will have killed in the end will heavily favor you, Vahn Mason...I pray that you live to see the ruin your actions bring upon the world...!")With these parting words, Enyo's 'presence' faded from Vahn's mind, leaving him staring with a hardened expression toward the center of the Floor. He knew there was actually a bit of truth to Enyo's words, as it had actually been a talking point during the Denatus. Loki had also mentioned similar things, talking about things like 'population control', resource management, and land allocation. There was undoubtedly a 'finite' amount of resources that naturally existed in the worlds, as even the power of a god was not truly without limit. If he truly wanted to keep 'order', at least with the record as it was, regulation, laws, and restrictions would have to be imposed. This would undoubtedly make it so that he was 'benefitting' from others, as the chance that these restrictions applied wholly to him, his family, and their future kin, were relatively small. Even if he wanted to avoid corruption from taking root in his bloodline, Vahn knew it was an inevitable fact, as 'karma' itself would always attempt to restore balance to the world...The only thing Vahn could do about the situation was to take a deep breath through his nose, exhale, and then simply 'let it go'. He would undoubtedly make mistakes over the course of 'eternity' but, so long as he always did his best to try and learn, there was time to correct his mistakes. As Enyo said, there were some things that were simply beyond his limited perspective and, only by experiencing these setbacks personally, could Vahn truly learn from them. Since he would continue to live forever, the number of people to die at his hands was functionally infinite, as he may even one day create entire multiverses with Death as a functioning Law. This was something he simply needed to accept; not something he should let Enyo use to sow the seeds of doubt within his mind...After around two hours, Terra had managed to move everyone out of the 60th Floor, leaving Vahn to mull over his thoughts in silence for a few minutes before he rose to his feet and changed back into his Zhuque form. Even as he rested, Vahn never dropped his Shadow Emperor raiment, as it would have unnecessarily dropped his combat potential, so he once again used the combined form to cut through the Dungeon. Vahn, while he had time to think, reasoned that this room was likely not the only one that Enyo had for producing the pseudo-spirit embryo. There were hundreds of doctored files within the Guild's archives and he suspected the number of Xenos she had captured, especially in recent months, had crossed into the triple-digits. Saving them all would be ideal but, with how much time it took just to move 83 people, Vahn wanted to deal with Enyo herself first.So long as he didn't encounter any such rooms along the way, Vahn could fool himself into believing that one room was the only one that existed. Though he empathized with the victims to an extreme, the revelation that Enyo had already begun her siege of Haven meant that the longer he delayed things, the more dangerous it was for the girls. He could tell himself that their defenses 'should' hold out for several weeks but there were never any guarantees in war. Enyo could have any number of means up her sleeves to turn the tides in her favor, especially with her propensity to rely on chemical warfare, mutated monsters, and other cruel means. The only way to stop her was to take decisive action and, now that he knew how 'warped' the errant goddess' mentality was, Vahn knew it was far too dangerous to let her continue acting as she pleased...With the desire to bring things to a swift end, Vahn tore through the walls until he broke into another large room, this one having a distinctly different layout than the rest of the Dungeon. The number of crystals lining the walls made it appear as though the Dungeon's structure itself was one massive geode. Here, the amount of mana was so dense that a mist was present in the air, causing Vahn's pores to open and greedily absorb it to supplement his own reserves. There was a malicious energy contained in the mana but Vahn's body naturally filtered it out, eliciting a synthetic voice to comment, "You truly are an anomaly, Vahn Mason..."Following these words, what appeared to be a Silverback that had been mutated by one of the parasitic plants, followed by a Lizardman with a similar state, jumped towards him with two peculiar golden weapons. They were shaped like a tool used to capture people and, upon entering into the range of Vahn's Zhuque flames, they were completely unaffected as they tore towards him with incredible momentum. Vahn, however, was long gone from the spot as the two continued forward with large holes where their cores used to reside. The same synthetic voice cursed, "Useless, useless, useless...!", the sound emanating from every direction without any apparent source.Using his domain, Vahn was slowly seizing control of the mana in the air and began to send 'pulses' through it, the same radar-like ability he had developed to detect invisible enemies in the past. With just the first pulse, Vahn found an 'outline' within his perception and, using [Shundo], immediately appeared next to the target with his hand reaching out. It tried to move away but was far slower than Vahn, allowing the latter to grab what felt like cloth that easily ripped away. Whatever invisible entity had been present tumbled to the ground rather pathetically, rolling to try and douse the flames that had ignited on the fabric of its clothing. Vahn felt like this person would be a good source of information so, while they were thrashing around, he lifted their body with telekinesis while 'pulling' away the flames that they had been unable to deal with.With the loss of their cloak, what was left floating in the air before him was a skeletal figure that was completely covered in red and black armor, tens of magical artifacts and accessories adorning their body. Other than the extremely emaciated and skeletal figure, with onyx-black bones, the most striking feature of this entity was the peculiar red and black mask the covered their face. Strangely, they also had a shaped breastplate that gave them a more feminine appearance, though Vahn had already identified the figure as a female from the bone structure. It was still very strange, seeing a living skeleton with an incredibly large amount of vitality contained within their bones, even though their mana was malicious to an extreme...(A/N: Alternate Titles: '*Casually traveling in and out of the 60th Floor*','Not even comparable...!','RIP Skeleton-chan...?')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

As intrigued as he was by how a skeleton was even able to move, or even 'think' for that matter, Vahn put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he asked, "What are you to Enyo? Where is her main body...?" The figure had tried to activate one of the magic items in her left gauntlet so, while he asked his questions, Vahn shaped the shadows around his hand and severed the arm, eliciting a loud, "Gyaaaaaaaaaghk-!" from the skeletal entity. Hearing the synthetic voice cry out with the undertones of a male and a female, Vahn furrowed his brows before using his telekinesis to stretch out the arms and legs of his captive so they couldn't struggle about needlessly.Without answering his questions, the figure began to emit a large volume of wispy black energy from the gaps of the armored plating covering their skeleton. Seeing this, Vahn pulled the entity towards him and placed his palm against the strange mask before sending a torrent of purifying energy into its body, courtesy of his [Yggdrasil's Champion]. This time, the screeching sound of the skeletal figure was indiscernibly shrill as a power aura radiated outward from its body, not because it was trying to power up, but because the purifying energy was dispersing the malicious energy very quickly. Even the 'blackened' bones had started to regain a more healthy white, at least until they were suddenly splayed with blood...Vahn felt a sharp pain through his chest that caused him to cough out a mouthful of blood before dropping the skeletal figure onto the ground. Through his chest, a reddish-black blade that emanated a thick black miasma was trying to wreak havoc through his body. This was a cursed weapon which, under normal circumstances, would have been able to inflict an unhealable wound. For Vahn, however, he clenched his teeth to resist the pain while sending Shadow Lances out of his back, piercing into the entity that had snuck up behind him. For a brief moment, his lances impacted against something and stalled but, after overcoming whatever resistive force had held them at bay, the invisible entity behind him was successfully skewered.Though it seemed his attack had been effective, the next reaction of the invisible entity was to twist the blade in Vahn's chest and pull it at a downward angle, cutting a painful trail through his body as Vahn's eyes widened. This time, he launched himself backward with full-force, smashing the invisible entity into the hard crystalline walls and causing large fractures in the Dungeon's structure. He then kicked away, allowing the blade to tear through him before instantly regenerating as he sent out another pulse of energy through his domain. Vahn identified the outline of not only his invisible assailant but several other figures that charged towards him. Sensing this, Vahn sent out eleven Shadow Lances, one for each of the enemies closing in on him.Surprisingly, though six of his lances struck their targets, three were evaded while the remaining two were actually 'cut' through by the unseen enemy. Vahn quickly transformed into his Zhuque form to deal with the nearest enemy, reaching out with his hand to grab the invisible blade barreling towards his neck. Even before he had stopped the blade, however, the invisible figure immediately burst into flames and began to scream before bursting apart into yellow and purples dust in under a second. Vahn ignored this outcome and instead sent a burst of flames away from his body, shaped like a disc that radiated outwards.This attack had been sent out almost instantaneously, cutting through seven of the assailants, incinerating their upper bodies and destroying the magic cores contained within. From the first enemy he had killed, Vahn knew these were either Creatures or corrupted Xenos but, with the circumstances as they were, he couldn't afford to 'save' them. He instead sent out several pulses of energy, identifying the three remaining enemies, and closing in on them with [Shundo]. His first target was the surviving member who had evaded his Shadow Lance and ducked under the wave of flames.Though they had been relatively silent until now, this invisible figure cried out in the voice of a female, shouting, "You bastard...! I won't let you kill me so easily!" Vahn felt three impacts against his chest as the butt of three daggers protruded out from his body. The invisible figure then, with a speed that could easily rival a Level 6 Adventurer, tried to decapitate him with her blade. Vahn, however, just increased the temperature of the flames around his body, turning the cursed blade into molten slag as he reached forward and struck against the chest of his opponent. They immediately went up into flames but, from the moment his hit had landed, the unseen woman was already dead.Vahn habitually shook his head before turning back to the final two enemies, both of which had been able to deal with his Shadow Lance and flame wave with relative ease. They hadn't moved to attack him, potentially believing their 'invisibility' was still effective, so Vahn stated, "Reveal yourselves and surrender if you want to live. I know you are just being us-" Before he could finish his words, Vahn leaned back to dodge the blade of a spear that had tried to slice through his neck. Vahn was surprised that, even though the spear had passed so close to his body, it just became red hot without melting down. Impressively, he could even see where someone was grabbing it, completely ignoring the heat as their skin sizzled while manipulating the weapon...Twisting his body to evade the incoming thrust, Vahn kicked against the abdomen of his attacker and caused their cloak to go up in flames. The fabric was obviously treated to resist flames, but the corrosive effect of his shadows broke through such defenses while the force behind his strike still carried the Power of someone near Level 7. As a result, the attacker was sent back like a ballista bolt, smashing into the Dungeon's wall and creating spiderweb fractures that extended all the way to the roof, more than 80m overhead. This hadn't been enough to take them out of the fight, however, as they simply tossed away the cloak and ignored the red-hot footprint that was now present on their armor.Vahn was surprised to see that it was a rather humanoid Xenos who had obviously descended from a Silverback. Though there was definitely something 'wrong' with it, being that part of its body had become black and corrupted, Vahn knew this was yet another victim of Enyo's influence. He didn't have time to try and reason with the 'man', however, as the second attacker had tried to sneak in from behind and pierce him with a longsword. As this happened, the Silverback-Xenos shouted, "No, he is too strong, run away...!" while spitting out a mouthful of boiling blood. Instead of heeding the Xenos' call, the invisible figure continued forward with decent speed, only to be intercepted by Vahn's foot and kicked into the ceiling above.Unlike the Silverback-Xenos, this one was much weaker and Vahn knew that his attack had been more than enough to claim the life of the relatively petite attacker. Through the burning fabric, Vahn could see what appeared to be a humanoid Goblin-Xenos, planted into the ceiling of the Dungeon as its body burned to ashes. Though this scene made Vahn feel a pang of guilt, he hardened his heart as the Silverback Xenos charged toward him, madness and grief in his eyes as he shouted, "Vahn Mason, why must you kill my kin!? What have we ever done to deserve this kind of treatment!?"As he shouted, the Silverback Xenos ignored the sizzling of its flesh as it continued to sweep forward with a surprising degree of skill, desperately trying to skewer Vahn with its spear. Vahn, however, was simply too fast and nimble while in his Shadow Emperor form, easily evading the strikes before seizing an opening to grasp the Xenos' wrist. The feeling of his fingers sinking into flesh was never pleasant, especially with the burning odor, but Vahn ignored it as he rammed his shoulder into the Xenos' chest and sent him flying once again, this time without his spear. Vahn looked at the red-hot spear in his hands, marveling at the fact it had been able to resist the temperatures from his body, even though it was currently starting to warp a bit...Being slammed into the wall a second time, the Silverback-Xenos no longer put up any form of resistance and instead showed a face filled with indignation as he muttered, "We Xenos are not monsters...it's bastards like you...who are the real...monsters..." With these words spoken, the Xenos lost consciousness while the armored plating that had preserved its life continued to 'cook' away at its flesh. Vahn threw the spear into his Inventory and, with a look of regret in his eyes, sent a Shadow Lance into the Xenos' core as a small mercy. It was obvious that these Xenos had been corrupted by Enyo and, with their yellow-black cores, it was almost impossible for him to liberate them.Restraining a sigh, Vahn exited his Zhuque form and downed a [Turbo Ether] to replenish his reserves before turning to the two remaining figures. The one he had been 'purifying' was currently splayed out on the ground, unmoving, while the one he had smashed into the wall seemed intent on pretending to be knocked out. As for why Vahn hadn't killed them as well, it was because he 'knew' they would be able to give him answers, especially after identifying who the second figure was. Thus, while slowly making his way over, Vahn asked, "Fels...does Ouranos know you are working with Enyo?"From the moment Vahn had seen the skeletal masked figure, he actually assumed it had been Fels from the very beginning. Now that he saw this second figure, however, Vahn knew the truth of the matter was slightly different. Fels had been recorded as a male and, based on the skeletal figure smashed into the wall, Vahn knew this one was undoubtedly Fels. As for the identity of the 'woman', Vahn wondered if it might have been Fels' sister, whom he had been rumored to have revived, as the existence of two skeletal entities must have some relation to each other. At the very least, Fels should be able to provide some of the answers he was seeking, even if the revelations may cause him to 'war' with Ouranos in the future...Instead of answering, the entity Vahn had identified as Fels, wearing pitch black armor to cover its skeletal figure, continued to play possum. The only part of its body that was revealed was a white skull, visible through the black mask that had covered his face. Similar to the first figure, there were numerous Magic Items covering Fels' body and, once again, Vahn could sense a very powerful vital energy contained within the bones. The difference, however, was that Fels' energy actually seemed very pure, possessing three rare affinities, Pure Water, Pure Light, and Pure Wood. It seemed very strange for a 'skeleton' to have three positive affinities but, based on Fels' accomplishments in the past, Vahn wasn't too surprised...The moment Vahn arrived right before Fels, the body in front of him began to fade away like an illusion. Vahn's expression didn't change in the slightest, however, as he spun around and deflected the blade aimed for his heart and grabbed the scarily thin neck of the invisible Fels and asked, "Even with an abnormal amount of mana, your physical traits are at best those of a Level 4...are you really going to continue this farce...?" Instead of providing an answer, one of the rings on Fels' gauntlet glowed green as a cloud of miasma erupted, surrounding both of them. Vahn could feel the malignant fumes try to invade into his pores but, the moment they attempted to do so, his body naturally expelled the effect.Shaking his head, Vahn began to increase the pressure of his domain on Fels while also using his telekinesis to 'crush' the skeletal figure. Though he tried to resist, while letting out the synthetic voice of a man, Fels was physically too weak and quickly found himself in something akin to a fetal position as a large amount of pressure restrained him. Vahn was actually very surprised by this, as he noticed that Fels' bones themselves possessed an indestructible quality. Even the black armor adorning his body was easily S-Rank while some of the items seemed to be Artifact grade. Two of the rings he had were the same strange gold that Vahn had seen after his melding with Freya, meaning they were a standard that generally only appeared in Heaven.Vahn tried to move some of the items on Fels' body into his Inventory to avoid further trouble but found it was impossible to do so. This meant they were likely Soulbound items or, like Riveria's staff, possessed a small amount of 'intent' that allowed them to resist. Thus, unable to take the items from him, Vahn increased the pressure on Fels even further as he asked, "How long are you going to remain silent? If I have to, I'll drag you out of the Dungeon and seek answers from Ouranos directly." As he spoke, Vahn continued to test the 'resistance' of Fels who, even under heavy pressure, didn't seem truly worse for wear. Vahn wasn't even sure if he could feel any discomfort at all, with a distinct lack of nerves, muscles, and organs in general...Seeing that Fels was still refusing to answer, Vahn lifted his left hand and 'grabbed' the first skeletal figure with his telekinesis and began dragging them over. He noticed a fluctuation in Fels' aura, dropping his Affection from 43 down to 28 in an instant. This was another reason why Vahn wanted answers from Fels, as his Affection had been 'neutral' from the beginning of their fight. Even now, his aura was relatively calm and, other than small fluctuations when he grabbed the first figure, there was no greater response from Fels. Finally, just as Vahn brought the first figure over, Fels stated in a synthetic monotone, "You are not a cruel man, Vahn Mason. I do not believe you will torture another just to gain information...not in these circumstances..."Hearing this, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, saying, "You are both correct, and incorrect, Fels...you see, I try to avoid the path of cruelty...I do not want to end up achieving my dream through the suffering of others...however, considering what you people have done here, I am willing to bear the burden of acting cruelly if it can end the suffering of others. If you will not tell me what I want to know, then you are forcing my hand..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn began to close his left hand, causing the unconscious skeletal figure to begin shaking under pressure.Fels' response, seemingly without any emotion, was simply, "Nobody can force your hand, Vahn Mason. Any action you take is one you have chosen to take...if you will become a cruel person to achieve your ends, then you are just another tyrant..." As he spoke, the empty socket of Fels' eyes began to shine with a ghostly blue light, staring back at Vahn as if 'judging' his actions. Upon witnessing this, Vahn felt a chill pass through his body that caused a frown to appear on his face. In truth, he was starting to get very annoyed with people saying he will become some vicious tyrant based on their own understanding of the situation. He wouldn't need to act like this if they weren't already doing cruel and inhumane things. How can they continually try to make him out to be the bad guy, all while engaging in activities that perpetuate an endless cycle of suffering!?With Fels' words fresh on his ears, Vahn clenched his teeth and, even though he felt righteous indignation, he still let the unconscious figure drop to the ground. At the same time, he eased a bit of the pressure on Fels and asked, "Will you continue to avoid answering my questions...? I may not torture her after hearing your words, but that doesn't mean I won't kill her swiftly...I imagine, as old as the two of you are, this would be something of a mercy...?" This question caused the 'flame' in Fels' eyes to burn even brighter as, somewhat surprisingly, he said, "If you are truly capable of killing her, that would indeed be a mercy...however, I am still unable to answer your questions..."Hearing this, a realization hit Vahn and he nearly released a loud sigh, understanding that Fels had probably been bound by a vow. Even if Vahn pressed him for questions, it was unlikely he would ever be able to answer. Since Fels didn't seem to be under the same influence as others, though it was very difficult to tell, there had to be other means by which he was controlled. Vahn could only assume it had something to do with the unconscious skeletal woman, deciding to ask, "Tell me, is this woman your sister...?" Fels, however, simply remained silent when asked this question which, in a way, was akin to a confession.Since Fels seemed unable to answer his questions, Vahn turned his attention to the unconscious skeletal woman and wondered if there was even a way to wake her up. Neither of them had organs like a brain and Vahn wasn't even sure how she had passed out in the first place. He didn't know how Enyo had exercised control over them, nor what the black energy within the first figure's body was related to. There were so many unknowns but, at the very least, Vahn was confident he could kill the unconscious skeleton. As indestructible as their bodies may be, Vahn knew there were varying degrees of indestructibility, some of which could be dealt with rather easily.Pulling at the [Sacred Duplex Nail], the S-Rank item that he used to pierce the eye of the Variant Juggernaut, Vahn slammed it down towards the chest of the first figure. It had the effect of not only restricting the regeneration of immortal beings but was also incredibly effective at piercing their defenses in general. The most important aspect of the nail was the fact that it could also kill both holy and demonic being, so long as they weren't actually at Tier 4. Thus, without any major flair, the golden nail pierced through the red and black plating of the entities chest and penetrated the large mass of vital energy contained within. This caused the remaining black miasma to immediately disperse outward while wisps of white and green energy leaked out from the stab wound. Vahn was able to confirm the figure was indeed dead as he was now able to stow it away in his Inventory...All the while this was occurring, Fels remained silent and simply 'witnessed' the event play out from start to finish. Vahn noticed that the Affection of Fels had jumped up to 61(Trust), even though his aura had almost no discernable fluctuations. It was almost as if the last eight-hundred years had drained the once prodigious Alchemist of any emotions. However, even if this was the case, Fels still plainly stated, "Thank you, Vahn Mason..." before hanging his head and falling silent...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Ein got wrecked...','RIP Silverspear-sama...Ecks-chan...','Skeletons have no tear ducts...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Without any fear, the red Minotaurs, which Vahn had chosen to classify as Berserkers, charged toward him with incredible momentum. Based on their movements, Vahn approximated their speed as just above Level 4. Their strength, however, remained a mystery since the moment they entered into the effective range of his Zhuque flames, they immediately burst into flame before dissolving into ash in an instant. Those that came in behind their kin showed a bit more caution, throwing their axes with enough force to create multiple shockwaves which, upon reaching Vahn's flames, once again turned into molten slag before breaking down and dispersing.Vahn was somewhat interested in the ecology of these monsters but knew now wasn't exactly the time to hold back and simply observe. Around the same time that the Onyx-Black Minotaur, which Vahn had decided to call a Berserker Chieftan, lifted up its colossal spiked-mace, Vahn had moved forward with [Shundo] and punched the 3m tall monster in its chest. His fist went straight through the blood-red armor of the Berserker Chieftan before continuing unobstructed as Vahn grabbed it's monster core and crushed it. This resulted in the Chieftan bursting into dust while Vahn looted the massive spiked-mace into his Inventory, comprised of enough Mithril to make more than a billion Valis worth of equipment.The surviving Berserkers, as if to give credit to the name Vahn had bestowed upon them, began to howl in concert with each other as their red fur began emanating light. Their size rapidly increased as they ran forward with an enraged charge, seemingly forgetting the results of their previous attempts to do so. Upon seeing this, Vahn shook his head disapprovingly before increasing the temperature of his surrounding and manipulating the Yang Elemental Energy to sweep through the chamber. This allowed Vahn to see a rather strange sight as the flesh and muscles of the Berserkers turned to ashes slightly faster than their skeletons. Seeing their skeletal figures for a brief moment, still in the midst of their charges, was a peculiar sight that had embedded itself into his mind...With the monsters dead, Vahn began to scan around the area with his [Eyes of Truth] before deciding it was best to follow his previous course of action. As a result, Vahn began moving 'through' the Dungeon's walls, cutting a direct path towards the center of the Floor. He knew there was a fair chance that a Juggernaut might spawn but, even if it was a little annoying to deal with, Vahn was confident in coming out ahead. Without needing to protect others, the means with which he could attack were functionally limitless...While doing his best to conserve his energy, Vahn cut through several walls of the Dungeon, ignoring the majority of monsters that spawned along the way. It wasn't until he came across an entirely new creature that Vahn advance was halted. He had entered into a large room that was a few hundred meters across with a ceiling nearly 200m tall. At the very center of the room, almost as if it had been waiting for him, there was an oblong spherical mass with a ruby-red coloration and a slightly translucent appearance. It looked very similar to a snack the girls liked to eat, known as jello, and it was jiggling slightly from the moment Vahn had entered the room. As for how he knew it was alive, Vahn could sense a very large amount of mana flowing in the creature's body, almost as if it was entirely comprised of pure Fire Elemental energy...It didn't take long for Vahn to realize this was either meant to stop him, or to determine exactly how powerful his fire-based attacks are. Since he was admittedly curious if his attacks would be effective against such a strange creature, Vahn created a fireball at the tip of his finger before aiming it towards the rotund monster and shotting it out like a vermillion laser. His attack struck against the surface of the monster, causing ripples as its color changed from ruby red to a slight vermillion coloration as hundreds of tendrils suddenly exploded outwards towards Vahn. This caused Vahn's brows to raise as he used [Shundo] to evade to the side, watching as the tendrils smashed into the walls and floor, leaving molten stone wherever they passed.This was an interesting development and, now that he had a better look, Vahn noticed that the monster was on a black platform of sorts that seemed resistant to the heat it produced. As for his attack, Vahn could see his energy coursing through the creature as it tried to 'tame' his flames and absorb them into its own body. Unfortunately, though it made some headway with the flames themselves, his Source Energy was wreaking havoc and Vahn could see its trembling had increased a great deal until it 'spat' out the foreign energy. From this, Vahn determined that this creature has an incredible fire immunity and, even though his Zhuque Flames could be classified as Tier 4, they couldn't completely ignore resistances while he himself was restricted to Tier 3.Now that his little experiment had concluded, Vahn evaded a few of the molten tendrils before sending a Shadow Lance towards what he had decided to call a Molten Slime. Vahn knew of the existence of Slimes, as they would very rarely appear within the large basin of water that was fed by the Great Fall. They had the same appearance and coloration as water and, while submerged, were nearly impossible to detect until you had the ability to sense mana. If you chose to swim around in the large basin, you could find yourself being swarmed by the 'invisible' creatures as they constricted your body and tried to slowly dissolve your flesh...Without any suspense, the Shadow Lance embedded itself into the Molten Slime before exploding outwards. Though it likely had basic immunity to physical attacks, Vahn's Shadow Emperor forms were an almost perfect counter to any creature that was dependent on magical barriers and general magic resistance. His attacks completely ignored such defenses and, being able to see the shiny red-hot core with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn had easily dealt with the 5m diameter Molten Slime. Curiously, instead of turning into dust, it spread out like water from the bottom of a broken bucket and began to melt through the surrounding Floor before cooling down and turning into a black puddle a few minutes after Vahn had recovered the core fragments, nabbed the black slab, and took a sample of the 'slime' before continuing his journey.Ignoring the layout of the Dungeon itself, Vahn continued to make his own path once again until several auras entered into his perception. Since there was a big difference between an 'aura' and being able to sense something's mana, Vahn immediately identified these had to be sentient creatures. His ability to see aura might have been influenced by his general perception, but Vahn knew it was the 'View Affection' function that allowed him to see them in the first place. Since the creature would have to possess some degree of sentience for him to see their Affection, Vahn knew he had to be on the right track.Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn focused his eyes and began to peer through the walls until he was able to see into the room where the auras were. What he saw in that dark chamber was something Vahn would never forget for the rest of his life. It was such an extreme image that, even with his [Will of the Emperor] supporting him, Vahn felt extremely nauseous and began to dry heave mucous and stomach acid. He hadn't eaten anything in quite a while so his stomach had been completely empty, something he now regretted as it was more painful than expected to have 'nothing' in your stomach while vomiting.After regaining his balance and taking a few deep breaths, Vahn wiped his mouth and muttered, "Enyo, if you can hear me...know that I will make you pay for this...you've gone too far...!" Within the chamber Vahn had peered into, there had been dozens of Adventurers and what Vahn had assumed to be Xenos 'fused' together with a strange plant-like monstrosity. They had roots going into their bodies and seemed to be providing a constant supply of mana to the horribly misshapen entity, all while tubes pumped nutrients and water directly into their stomachs. These were enough reasons for Vahn to feel horribly perturbed by the existence these people had to suffer through, but it was the fact that each of them had their arms and legs amputated that caused Vahn's soul itself to tremble...As if to answer his words, a peal of laughter sounded from inside of Vahn's head before fading away with the word, ("Come..."). When he heard her laugh, Vahn felt like the ocean in his mind had become fiercer than the waves sailors would encounter during a hurricane. Each wave seemed like the size of a mountain, crashing against other mountains as Vahn's body trembled with rage even greater than what he had experienced after seeing Milan's state in the past. Though he had accepted his past when obtaining the [Magia Erebea], Vahn couldn't accept that others were put into a similar situation as himself. These people were being used for their mana, just as he had been used for his blood, all without their consent...they were living a nightmare without even the reprieve of death being an option...Before he even realized it, Vahn found himself in the room with these tragic people, tearing apart the mannequin-like monsters that possessed several mechanical blades and traps within their structure. None of these bought them any time, however, as Vahn mowed through them in an instant and was about to tear apart the monstrous flowering plant that had assimilated all of these people for its own use. Enyo's voice entered his mind at this moment, warning, ("If you kill my baby, all of these people will die. What will you do-"). Completely ignoring Enyo's words, Vahn tore apart the bulbous ovipositor of the giant plant, destroyed the small embryo-like eggs within, and destroyed the gigantic core that was located near the center without a second thought. Even if everyone outside died, Vahn knew they would likely be 'glad' for the relief, as some amongst them were even Elves with greying hair...As the massive plant turned into dust, the people and Xenos it had assimilated fell limply to the ground, painful moans and croaking voices sounding out wordlessly. Though they would undoubtedly die if left alone, Vahn could tell from this that Enyo's words had once again been a lie. Now, he had to choose if he wanted to save these 83 unfortunate souls and return them to the surface world. He could erase their memories and give them hope for a better life moving forward or take mercy on them now, putting them out of their misery and returning them to the cycle of reincarnation. They were likely considered dead back on the surface and he had already seen from how Rufina lived that it wasn't exactly easy to adapt to life without any memories, barring heavy support from others...Without thinking about it too much, Vahn decided it was only right to give them the option themselves, instead of choosing for them. Some of these people could have been trapped down here for hundreds of years, living the life that someone else had decided for them. He could return to them the freedom of choice and, though some would undoubtedly choose death, that was their decision to make, not his. There was also a chance that these people had living friends and family that would sincerely appreciate the safe return of their loved ones, even though the road to recovery would be very long...After releasing a deeply exasperated sigh, Vahn set about stabilizing these unfortunate souls, even though it was certainly unpleasant to experience having his own arms and legs ripped away several times in sequence. As for the people themselves, Vahn had put them into a very deep sleep with his [Hands of Nirvana] and temporarily blocked their pain receptors before the procedure had started. He had to go through a process of cutting apart their atrophied muscles and opening up their wounds before he was able to perform a [Wound Transfer] to replace their missing limbs. Even so, Vahn tolerated the pain, ignoring Sis' advice that he could dull his own pain receptors so that the burden was lessened...During the very long process of stabilizing these people, there were several auras skulking about in the surroundings while a veritable army of the mannequin monsters tried to interfere with his efforts. Vahn didn't even turn his attention away from his work, instead, using one of his other trump cards by making use of his telekinesis to lift and spin things until they were broken apart by the centrifugal forces. There were very few things that had any resistance to telekinetic powers in this world, so long as their physical abilities weren't outright about to overcome the forces applied to their bodies. With Vahn's understanding of a target's body, however, the chances of them breaking free once he had caught them were incredibly low. All he had to do was make anchor points near someone's ears, the joints of their fingers, their eyes, or even individual teeth and any movement they made would be excruciatingly painful...(A/N: Jeez, imagine a psychic lifting your body up by your eyes...)After more than five hours of operations, Vahn wiped non-existent sweat from his brow before releasing a profound sigh and rising to his feet. His now greater understanding of the situation had caused any emotions he had been feeling to fade away by now. In the record of Danmachi, it was a simple truth that females had higher mana reserves than males. Of the 83 people he had 'rescued', a total of 74 were female and, amongst them, eleven had been pregnant. Vahn realized Enyo hadn't simply been collecting Adventurers for her purposes, but 'breeding' them for efficiency. Of those that had been collected, the majority were Elves while there were even two Demigoddesses and, at the very heart of everything, a High Spirit.Enyo had been using what Vahn identified as a Tree Nymph as a breeding bed and, even though she wasn't able to bear children herself, Enyo had found a way to artificially produce pseudo-spirit offspring. She had somehow been extracting the egg cells from Elves, fertilizing them, and then nourishing them with nutrients and energy from the High Spirit that Enyo had imprisoned. This didn't exactly make them the offspring of Spirits, but Enyo had been warping the minds of the strange embryonic Spirits to make them parasitize monsters, producing the plant-like creatures that had been assaulting the Alliance's forces...With these new revelations, the ire Vahn now possessed towards Enyo had reached an extreme and even he wasn't sure what he would do when they finally came face to face. For now, he was just taking a short break to recuperate his energy while watching over the sleeping figures of these tragic individuals. Though they had been kept alive by the nutrients pumping into their stomachs, the inability to move had made each of their bodies emaciated and lanky. Vahn had helped to stabilize them but it would be a very long road before they were able to recover completely. They would need months of physical rehabilitation while no amount of therapy would ever truly remove the trauma they had experienced in this dark and stagnant place...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I'll be taking that...//[Steal] Development Ability Unlocked//','Well, at least it survived more than one hit...?','Empathy, Sadness, Rage, Nothingness...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 880: Conflicting Ideals