Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With the fall of Sobek and Ares in such a short period of time, absolute chaos began to spread through the battlefield. Even with the Generals trying to keep order by cutting down those trying to flee, they were unable to stop their forces from dispersing rapidly. The punitive force had been mowing through their ranks with unstoppable momentum and now that their gods had fallen, everything they had believed in previously fell with them. After all, the Rakia Kingdom was just an extension of the Ares Familia, with the King of Rakia being the Captain of the Familia. With Ares dead, the Familia would cease to exist, meaning their very Kingdom would likely fall shortly after.Following Haruhime's original orders, the four platoons of the punitive force continued to give chase, completely routing the enemy forces that had outnumbered them one-thousand-to-one. With chaos now spreading through the entire battlefield, few even tried to fight back as everyone tried to be the quickest to flee. Many even abandoned their weapons and armor while others would attack their own allies to prevent them from escaping faster than they themselves. It was only in the center of the battlefield, where a group of ten people ignored the retreating tides as they looked towards Vahn, fear and inhibitions nowhere to be seen within their eyes.This group was entirely comprised of Amazoness women who were covered in red tribal markings while, at the very center of their small unit, Ioke stood with her massive battleax. Like the Amazoness surrounding her, she had a blood-crazed expression as she said, "You...strong..." in a cold monotone. With these two words leaving her lips, similar red markings to those that had been painted on the Amazoness' bodies began to appear on Ioke's pale skin. Vahn realized they had likely copied their markings after observing Ioke but he didn't have time to think about it since the latter had already moved toward him after kicking against the ground hard enough to cause corpses to lift into the air.Ioke's body tore through these corpses, turning them into a torrent of flesh and blood that followed along with her movement. Vahn was a little surprised by this but, at the most, Ioke's strength was only around the peak of Level 5 while her Amazoness troupe, each wielding massive weapons of their own, were only Level 3. He raised his hand while converging his domain in an instant, greatly increasing the pressure in the surroundings while the mana density in the air was so condensed that it had become both visible and tangible. All of this mana was under Vahn's control as well, allowing him to dictate its structure and manipulate it freely, this time converting it into pure Light Elemental energy.Though he didn't understand the principle behind it, Vahn felt that the Slaughter Laws around Ioke's body were 'cold' and 'dark', leading him to believe it was a form of negative energy. His [Yggdrasil's Champion] allowed him to use the vital energy granted by Yggy to greatly increase his ability to purify negative energies. As a result, the blood red shroud around Ioke dispersed as a red mist began erupting from her body, all while Vahn used his Xuanwu form to deflect her heavy battleax. Instead of 70kg, it was actually closer to 150kg, causing Vahn's bones to creak slightly as his feet fractured the ground below. Ioke's physical power had been much higher than he had expected, even though her speed hadn't been that impressive.As Ioke screamed and writhed about on the ground, bloody mist escaping her body with incredible momentum, Vahn used [Enkidu] to wrap her up while dispersing the Light Elemental energy that had caused his domain to become like a vibrant white sun. If not for his [Eyes of Truth] being unaffected, Vahn would have been blinded by his own attack, much like the nine Amazoness who hunched over on the ground, protecting their eyes with their hands. Their skin had turned tender from the high exposure to Light Elemental energy, but they would be fine after soaking in an Elixir bath for a short while. Vahn, however, couldn't exactly afford them the opportunity since they had some of the most vicious black auras he had ever seen...These nine Amazoness were women who had reveled in slaughter and murder for a long period of time, even though they weren't compelled by any kind of Divinity to do so. They happily butchered people for the thrill of it and, back in the Rakia Kingdom, they were notorious for murdering people in broad daylight without consequence. Vahn understood they were probably close to Ioke, likely her only Familia members, but having such 'toxic' existences would only make her life more difficult. For the time being, however, Vahn just put them into a deep comatose state since he didn't want Ioke's first experience with him and the Alliance, outside of combat, to be negative.Once the Amazoness had been dealt with, Vahn used telekinesis to levitate their bodies as he turned to the bound Ioke who, for the first time in her long existence, no longer felt the compulsion of her Divinity. She just stared blankly at Vahn, mouth slightly agape as both words and thoughts, at least for the moment, completely escaped her. Vahn felt a great deal of pity for an existence like Ioke and, knowing how much she had suffered in the past, his bad habit was acting up a bit. Without putting much thought into it, Vahn had found himself in front of Ioke, stroking her blood-red hair with a concerned look on his face as he said, "Hestia, Hephaestus, Artemis, and Demeter have been worried about you...nobody will use you as a weapon anymore, Ioke. It may take some time but there will be a lot of people who help you try and become happy in the future..."There was a great deal of confusion in Ioke's eyes as she looked up at Vahn, seeing the melancholy and empathy contained within his expression. This caused her brows to furrow as she asked, "You will...not bully...Ioke...?" Though she was nearly three-hundred million years old, Ioke very rarely spoke full sentences to people, often choosing to forgo conversations entirely. Her social skills had degraded a great deal, to the point that she sounded more like a child who was just learning how to speak for the first time. This made Vahn's heart feel like someone was twisting it as he nodded his head and said, "From now on, you will choose how you want to live. Though I can't just let you go around killing people, I will do my best to create an environment where you can be happy..."Ioke didn't need to kill people in order to pacify her Divinity so, as long as Vahn was able to provide an environment where she could cut loose whenever she wanted, that should be enough to allow her to live a relatively normal life. Since the underground network of tunnels was now connected with the Dungeon, Vahn could make a channel where monsters were able to spawn and proliferate. Though these would mostly be just Goblins and Kobolds, it shouldn't really matter from the perspective of Ioke's Divinity. So long as she was able to slaughter 'something', Ioke wouldn't have to worry about experiencing pain and suffering from trying to resist her Divinity's compulsion.Though she couldn't really imagine a world where she was 'happy', Ioke felt like Vahn wasn't trying to trick her by lying. Just the golde chains wrapping her body, which were strangely comfortable, combined with the warm energy flowing from his palm made her feel very relaxed and safe. Even if he was lying to her, Ioke felt it was better to be with someone that treated her kindly instead of someone that would bully her all the time. She had been severely scarred by Zeus in Heaven and, after coming to the Mortal World, she ended up being used as a weapon by Ares. The worst part was that, while Ares himself didn't do anything to her, he had allowed his men to do as they pleased, all while she was unable to kill them because of the vow she had made to not harm anyone in his Familia. There were many cruel people within the Ares Familia and, being able to do whatever they wanted to a goddess was a large boost to the ego of many in the upper echelons of the Familia...Vahn, unaware of the full extent of Ioke's suffering, continued to stroke her head gently until she had slowly lapsed into a deep slumber. Haruhime had already appeared at his side long ago, waiting for his orders since it would be easy for her to catch up with the retreating army. Vahn picked up Ioke's body in a bridal carry, feeling pained by how light she was in his arms. He turned to Haruhime, that same pain showing on his face as he said, "If they are just Level 1, give the punitive force the order to have those that surrender make a life-long vow to never commit criminal acts before letting them go. Those who are Level 2 and above, especially if they have the 'scent' of blood on them, make sure they are all killed. The Rakia Kingdom no longer exists...I will not let its legacy survive it..."The 'official' population of the Rakia Kingdom was around 600,000 citizens, not counting those in the lower rungs of society who were generally treated as slaves and laborers. Though there would be those amongst the 600,000 that are innocent, Vahn knew those that had risen through the ranks of society were just as corrupt as the Kingdom itself. Now that Ares had died, the worst amongst them would either try to seize power within the broken Kingdom while those with keen insight would start fleeing. They would lay their roots elsewhere, likely taking over a small village or township, if not outright migrating to other countries where their corruption would once again begin to spread. Vahn wanted to eliminate people like this, especially those that acted willingly as agents of the Empire, each like a cancerous cell that needed to be cut out in order to begin the recovery process...Haruhime gave an elegant bow, her usual smile nowhere to be seen as she understood this wasn't an easy decision for Vahn to make. In a way, most of the residents of Rakia Kingdom were 'victims' and, if given the opportunity to seek a better life for themselves, many would take the chance. Now, there would undoubtedly be innocents who would die as a result of the chaos that would permeate through the now defunct Kingdom. Each of these lives, even if Vahn didn't experience the deaths themselves, would weigh heavily on his heart. Understanding this, Haruhime shared Vahn's pain and, if possible, she wanted to take it unto herself so that he could have peace of mind...Even without seeing her aura, Vahn was sensitive to Haruhime's feelings because of their ever-growing bond with each other. His expression softened and, before she raised her head, Vahn had started to pet her glossy blonde hair as he said, "Soon, events like this will be a thing of the past. Don't worry, Haruhime...I will not break from something like this. With amazing women like you supporting me, I can bear the weight of Heaven itself if I need to..." The moment these words left his mouth, Vahn felt like each of his nerves was on fire as his instincts warned him of imminent danger.In an instant, the world lost almost all of its color as Vahn strained every muscle in his neck and torso to look skyward, all while 'pushing' Haruhime, Ioke, and the unconscious Amazoness away from him. Within this colorless world, there was a shining golden 'star' that had entered Vahn's perception, even though it had yet to enter into his domain. It felt like his body was being weighed down like a mountain that grew exponentially heavier with each passing moment. However, even though less than a thousandth of a second had passed in reality, even with Vahn's perception making it appear as if time itself had been brought to stop, the golden object had already pierced through his body before passing into the earth below...Vahn could feel the cells in his body being torn apart in slow motion as his senses were becoming obscure, almost as if he was no longer in his own body any longer. This resulted in time returning to normal as Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amazonesses were still caught in the large shockwave that had occurred after the golden object had pierced into the earth, traveling very near the speed of light. Haruhime and Ioke had been pushed away from the blastwave without any grievous injuries, but the unconscious Amazonesses, who were only Level 3, had been disintegrated by the strike. Vahn hadn't had enough time to try and protect them as the period between his instincts trigger and the attack hitting had been nigh-instantaneous.With the blastwave expanding outward, Vahn's body was also disintegrated alongside them but, long before the light had faded away, he had already regenerated. He then immediately launched himself into the sky with a vicious look in his eyes as sheer unadulterated rage had overtaken him for the time being. Though Haruhime would have been able to survive with the [Effigy of the Hero], that attack had been more than enough to sure-kill almost anything within its area of effect. The fact that this unknown enemy had struck forth with the intent to kill, not only himself, but Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amaonesses, had caused Vahn's rage to explode outward.Even without transforming into one of his [Magia Erebea] forms, Vahn had torn through the sky with enough force to create several shockwaves as a black trail followed behind him. He reached out with his hand, grasping towards a man with short black hair and a casual smile on his face. This same man held out his hand, causing a flash of brilliant golden light as an ornate spear, covering from tip to pommel in glowing runes, appeared. From Vahn's perspective, the world lost its color once again as the man kicked with enough physical force to fracture the void, leaping higher into the sky as he arched his back and prepared to strike down with his spear a second time.At the very same moment that the man's muscles contracted, fully prepared to throw his spear, Vahn had also torn through the void, shrinking the distance between him and the man in 'literally' no time. His claw found its way around the man's neck while he was still transitioning out of his wind-up motion, tearing through flesh and bone without any resistance. Vahn's other claw had pierced through the man's chest, completely crushing his heart and causing 'ripples' to spread from the contact point as, with time returning to normal, his neck and torso exploded into particles so fine that they seemed to vanish into the void. All that was left of the man was his still smiling face, his lower body, and a golden spear that was quickly losing its light...Vahn matched gazes with the man who finally seemed to realize his situation but was already too far gone to do anything to preserve his life. The light in his eyes faded away almost at the same instant that realization hit him, the smile on his face turning into an incredulous gap as his black eyes reflected an azure-blue light. There, within that reflection, the image of Vahn, shrouded in an azure radiance. Much of his body was covered in scales that emanated with azure blue and gold light as he stood like an indomitable tyrant while the very void around him was shattering from his presence. His eyes had become like blazing golden suns as golden antler-like horns protruded from the mane of electrified azure-blue hair framing his fierce visage. Behind his body, there was a golden bladed ring that seemed to vibrate with a frequency that caused space to retreat away from Vahn, almost as if the world itself feared his presence...(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The End of Suffering...','Removing cancer from the source','The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it...all while the Azure Dragon watches silently from the void, its wrath waiting to be unleashed...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

With a reformed height of 190cm, azure blue scales intermixed with a pattern of gold, glowing runic tattoos covering his body, and majestic golden antlers protruding through his azure hair, Vahn stood within the quaking void as he overlooked the devastation below. His eyes were a vibrant golden color that radiated like the sun while his pupils had become like thin reptilian slits. Other than the peculiar golden wheel behind his back, the most striking feature he possessed currently was the azure lightning that coiled around his scales and danced between his body and the wheel. Wherever the arcs of 'lightning' spread, a black emptiness would be left within the void before space tried to repair itself.Vahn found himself in a strange state where he was suffused with intense rage while also feeling extremely calm, contemptuous thoughts welling up inside him as he looked down upon the world. He didn't know who the man was but, based on the variables available, Vahn had a strong suspicion about where he had come from. His golden eyes turned towards the North-West region of the continent, almost as if his gaze could pierce through time and space. In the next moment, Vahn found himself in an area with an oppressive aura suffused through the atmosphere as an expansive City stretched out below him. The buildings looked extremely ancient but, as if unaffected by the passage of time, had an 'immaculate' quality to them. There wasn't even a single sign of fauna, including a distinct lack of insect life that would typically be present in most environments...Upon blinking his eyes, Vahn found himself standing in the air above the battlefield once again, causing him to squint as a result of the mild confusion he felt. It was almost as if his 'intent' had been able to travel to where he wanted to view and, testing this theory, Vahn found himself looking down at the Elsos Ruins in the Dark Continent a moment later. This time, he 'moved' his body and found himself tearing through the void as, instead of just his intent being present above the Ruins, his body had formed as if there had been no distance separating him and Orario from the start. His energy reserves had taken a massive hit but were quickly replenishing as Vahn once again found his 'intent' above the battleground before tearing through space as if it were just a slightly resistive membrane...With most of his reserves sunk in the two spatial transfers, Vahn felt the 'contempt' that had invaded his mind slowly begin to fade away. He saw that Haruhime had recovered Ioke while Lefiya treated the unconscious goddess' injuries. Ais, along with most of the girls that had been observing the battle take place, had formed a defensive line to protect the City. Most of the citizens that had been content to simply watch had started evacuating very quickly with the assistance of the Alliance and the various Adventurers who had gathered. The festive atmosphere from before had completely vanished the moment the golden spear had descended, leaving a deep cross-shaped scar in the terrain while the surroundings had sunken inward after the massive explosion...Vahn estimated the strength of the person that had attacked him to be around the peak of Level 8 while the attack they had used was likely related to an Innate. It had been completely indefensible as, from the moment the spearman had locked onto his target, they would be weighed down by an incredible pressure that made even dodging impossible. Vahn wasn't even sure if he would be able to evade it in his Lightning Emperor form, as the attack had torn through him faster than his already ridiculous perception could process. From the moment he had sensed the attack, several kilometers away, to the time he had been run through, it was almost as if no time had passed at all...Because of this, and the fact that such individuals simply couldn't exist in secret, Vahn supposed that the man had belonged to the faction of Zeus and Hera. Other than Siegfried and Jeanne, Vahn had yet to meet anyone who was remotely close to the spearman in strength. He had to be some Hero from History who had fallen out of the limelight after events Vahn could only begin to speculate over. All he knew for certain, even though he was unaware of the reasons, it seemed like this group of people had become antagonistic towards him. This realization, combined with the wrath he had felt previously, caused Vahn to enter into his Azure Dragon form for the first time as thoughts of what might happen if he wasn't careful played themselves through his mind.The weakest person he had seen from the group had been Jeanne, even though Vahn also 'felt' that he wouldn't actually be able to beat her. Even she had been Level 8, meaning there was a very high probability that others in their organization were also around a similar degree of strength. If anyone in their group had Innates that would allow them to breach the Manor, it meant none of his family was safe if they were truly at odds with each other. Though Terra should be able to keep everyone safe, there was no way of knowing how an Innate could manifest. Understanding this, Vahn once again turned his eyes towards the North-West as rage and contempt began to permeate through every fiber of his being...As he was thinking of wreaking havoc at the ancient-looking city atop the mountain, Haruhime's voice entered Vahn's mind, asking, ("Vahn, what happened? What do you want us to do...?"). Vahn could hear the concern in her voice as it echoed within his mind, causing a bit of the rage he felt to diminish as he looked toward where the girls were gathered and sent a broad telepathic response, ("This is a group of enemies that you all aren't prepared to face. Not only are their Innates polished over hundreds of years, but the weakest in their group is over Level 8. Return to the Manor and protect our family. I don't think they will attack within the City, but there is a chance one of them may try to infiltrate the Manor...please, keep everyone safe.")Since they may try to insist on helping, Vahn averted his eyes when he was finished speaking, sending his intent thousands of kilometers in an instant before tearing through the void. The oppressive energy in the air made it feel like he was trying to swim through liquid metal that had been compressed under intense pressure. Vahn felt like, as he was tearing through the void, his body was also being torn apart in the process. However, with the immortality he possessed through his [Magia Erebea], Vahn was able to complete the transfer as the golden blood in his body defied gravity to return to him, sealing up his wounds almost instantly.Almost as soon as he broke through into this condensed space, Vahn knew he had been detected and, a few seconds after his arrival, several hundred armored warriors had ascended into the sky. Though he didn't feel much of anything at the moment, Vahn was mildly surprised to see that, of the nearly three-hundred warriors, each of them looked like ethereal beauties that practically 'screamed' the word Valkyrie in the back of his mind. Each wore ornate blue and black armor that was adorned with gold, the only exception being their white battledresses and the feathers in their visored helmets. They had dark-grey metallic wings and either wielded halberds or paired swords and kite shields, each glimmering with the resplendence of A and S-Rank items...Even though the entire group consisted of Level 5 warriors, with a few Level 6s and 7s mixed in, the only thing Vahn felt after his momentary surprise was absolute contempt. The closer they charged to him, the dimmer the world became until one of the Level 7s, a woman with pristine white hair and blue-grey eyes, was merely ten meters away from him. With this occurrence, Vahn felt like time had actually stopped completely, even though he could still see the lightning moving in slow motion across his azure-blue scales. It seemed that his Azure Dragon transformation not only gave him the ability to manipulate space, but it was heavily affecting his perception of time as well.From the perspective of reality, unobserved, both Time and Space, while being fundamental Laws that governed almost every record, didn't actually exist. There was no 'distance' between two points unless you had the means to measure it through the lens of your perception, given by the ego and interpreted by whatever instrument you used to view reality. If you were able to exist outside of records, where even Laws themselves didn't exist, you could view the inside and choose any point in Time and Space, regardless of the location or if it was in the past, present, or future. It was only when you were inside of the record, bound by its Laws, that the two concepts had any influence over you in a meaningful way...With the ability to move through and manipulate Space, which could not exist without Time, Vahn was secondarily able to have some degree of control over the later. Though he could not tear through time, as he could Space, just having the ability to change his perception of Time, and its relation to the Space around him, gave Vahn a degree of power that his own mind was having trouble keeping up with. If not for the strange state he found himself in, Vahn wasn't sure if he would be able to make sense of any of the phenomenon happening around him, even with all the Time in the world to do so...Though he would normally have to strain his muscles to move in this state, as his body simply couldn't keep up with his mind, Vahn was able to 'shrink' and 'tear' through space without Time seeming the affect him. Instead of straining himself, it felt like he was moving through a dense and fiery liquid as a black trail existed where his body had been previous. Vahn could even see 'light', or the Space around where his hand had been, slowly collapsing in on itself as the mana and light in the air flowed in to fill the 'nothingness' that had been left behind.During Vahn's 'simple' movement, where he had lifted his hand up in a seemingly casual manner, the leading Valkyrie hadn't even moved a single millimeter through the air as even her pupils were contracting at a ridiculously slow rate. It wasn't uncommon for powerful warriors to have a perception and mental acuity that far outstripped their physical capabilities so, even though the Valkyrie was seemingly frozen in time, her mind was slowly processing what was happening...Vahn felt like he had all the time in the world to contemplate his next choice of action thus, after what felt like several minutes of thinking, he had made his choice. None of these Valkyries had dark auras so Vahn didn't want to kill them, especially since there was a chance he had misunderstood the situation. If the forces under Hera and Zeus weren't already antagonistic towards him, slaying these two-hundred-seventy-one Valkyries would most-certainly ensure that they would be in the future. The ideal situation would be one where they were able to compromise and avoid a direct engagement as even Siegfried and the spearman he had killed previously didn't actually have black auras.Willing the energy coiling around his body to become contained within, Vahn watched as the lightning slowly embedded itself into his scales. When the energy was gone, he moved through Space without actually moving his body, pressing his hand 'gently' against the leading Valkyrie's head. For a brief moment, Vahn felt something similar to static arc between his hand and her helmet as it 'blinked' away a few meters behind her. The Valkyrie's hair was still in the same position, as if her helmet was still in place, as Vahn pressed his palm against her bare forehead this time. As if it was liquid slowly spreading through a cloth, Vahn watched as his own condensed Source Energy slowly turned his palm into a rainbow hue that spread into the Valkyrie's forehead, illuminating her fair skin as he gave her head a light caress.In the next instant, Vahn felt his percept shift before his body had torn through Space once again, placing him in front of the next Valkyrie, a Level 6 with deep-blue hair that was almost black. This process repeated two-hundred-and-seventy-one times, all in the time it took for the entire 'flock' of Valkyrie to move forward just a few centimeters. By the time Vahn had finished, allowing color to return to the world, the entire group of winged-warriors was falling limply through the sky, their consciousness robbed by his caress. Vahn supported their falling bodies by anchoring them using telekinesis through his domain. Though they would be fine, regardless of how far they fell, Vahn would feel guilty later if he let nearly three hundred women crash to the ground, especially when he could easily prevent it...With his 'stunt' complete, Vahn felt like every nerve in his body was on fire while his mind felt incredibly sluggish, even with his reserves steadily replenishing. His Mental Energy had drained a great deal and, if not for the fact he was meditating back at the Manor, having two bodies would probably cause him to break down like when he first used his avatar in the Sub-Space orb while his body returned to reality. When Vahn's perception of time had caused the world to slow to a crawl, this wasn't the same thing that his body was experiencing back at the Manor. This caused him to feel an intense mental strain and it was likely he wouldn't be able to perform such feats in sequence without his avatar breaking down entirely.Ignoring the feeling of his brain 'splitting' down the center, Vahn descended into the Ancient City, his target one of the few auras present within his domain, excluding the Valkyrie. The owner of the aura was a small boy, seemingly no older than ten years old, with white hair and heterochromatic eyes. One was light-grey in coloration, glowing with a subtle light, while the other was a pale-purple, a peculiar color, though not nearly as peculiar as its glowing counterpart. He was wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt, fasted together by ornate silver buttons, with a pair of brown shorts that were held by suspenders. The boy also had a beige flat cap, white socks, and a pair of brown loafers that gave him an appearance that contrasted with anyone Vahn had ever met previously.Without showing any fear whatsoever, the boy had an innocent looking smile on his face as his big eyes were locked on to Vahn. When they were within a comfortable speaking distance, the boy's smile grew marginally wider as he said, "That ability of yours is amazing, Vahn Mason. Quantum Tunneling and Inter-Temporal Acceleration are exceedingly rare, even amongst the monsters here in the City of Heroes~!" The boy seemed more excited by Vahn's display of taking down the Valkyrie than worried about his own safety. Even his aura was a sunny yellow with strands of blue and subtle greens that showed amicability and curiosity.Vahn felt like his momentum was heavily affected by the boy's nature but, understanding it could be an Innate, he didn't drop his guard as he asked, "Who are you? Where are Zeus and Hera...?" He also wanted to ask about the 'City of Heroes' but, considering existences like Siegfried and Jeanne likely resided here, it wasn't really that surprising. In response to his inquiries, the boy seemed to get even more excited as he raised his head proudly while placing his hand over his heart as he said, "My name is Paracelsus, the Medicine King! I'm also a [Philospher] tier Alchemist so if you need to treat an incurable disease, or want high-grade Elixirs, feel free to ask me and I'll give you a good deal~!"(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'If you are moving through Space, you are always moving through Time, even if you are displacing both (UwU)~!','Ougi, Serious Series, Serious Head Patting~!','There goes the momentum :infiniteKeks:')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

The moment Ares gave his command, more than twelve-hundred cavalry charged forward with loud warcries while the remainder of his army began to fan out while advancing on the punitive force. With the other four armies creating a larger container, the situation was changing so that the smaller force would be surrounded doubly so, Ares' army acting as the inner group that would the one hundred soldiers representing Orario's first line of defense.There were many in Ares' army who were faster than the majestic and mighty looking white stallions owned by the cavalry and, not wanting to miss out on the fun, they ran ahead without fear. The elites making up Ares' army specialized in individual combat and, in order to increase their own standing, there were those who wanted to earn meritorious achievements for themselves. Even more, however, simply wanted to slaughter as many people as they could, reveling in the idea of cutting through what they believed to be weak enemies. With nearly half the punitive force was comprised of Pallum, it reinforced their misconception that the enemies before them were weak.Now, instead of targetting the outer armies, the punitive force switched their focus to Ares' army, shooting around sixty explosive bolts per second towards the oncoming cavalry. There were a few soldiers who were able to swipe away the bolts while others, even after getting hit, pressed forward without showing any signs of slowing down. The Endurance parameter increased a person's ability to resist shockwaves, to the point that 'normal' explosives were useless after a certain threshold was reached. Other than taking out most of the horses, which did slow down the momentum of Ares' army a bit, the large majority of soldiers were just incensed by the attacks, not taken out by them.Completely expecting this outcome, which is why they hadn't targetted Ares' forces at first, a series of quick commands were issued that caused the next rack of bolts to contain pure white projectiles. These were all carved from Dragon Fangs, each possessing a single Ability that would make them extremely lethal, 'Piercing:S'. Though some of Ares' forces realized the difference in the projectiles, there were others who had decided to simply take them head on like the previous bolts. This time, instead of simply slowing them down, the bolts continued forward, piercing straight through their targets and even injuring some other soldiers that had been behind those unfortunate enough to overestimate themselves...At this time, the two 'armies' had grown close enough for a physical clash, resulting in several Level 3 members of Ares' army to advance towards the punitive force with the intent to slaughter the whole lot. They numbered merely five individuals, believing themselves to be skilled Elites that would be like wolves released in a flock of sheep as they attempted to jump over the vanguard and target the interior of the punitive force's formation. Since they were ignored by the Archers and Vanguard, the few Level 3s that had breached forward believed themselves unstoppable, all the way up until the eight Spear-users trained by Arnya ran them through in an instant. Each of their members was Level 3 while their coordination was impeccable, making short work of three of the Level 3's without any difficulty at all. The sole survivor that had managed to touch down in the middle of the punitive force found himself surrounded, skewered by three different spears before he was able to attack anyone.The Technicians within the punitive force split into two groups, one that moved forward and began lobbing [Burst Oil] and [Smoke Grenades] into Ares' army while three members moved to dispose of the corpses that had landed within the force's interior. Unlike the explosions caused by the bolts, the [Burst Oil] was easily strong enough to overwhelm a Level 2 while even most Level 3 wouldn't be able to resist the viscous oil that possessed corrosive properties and couldn't be doused by normal means. This marked the moment when things became truly chaotic as the center of the battlefield quickly became suffused with plumes of smoke and flames as the advancing forces of Ares' army were mowed down rapidly. Because of the bodies of their own fallen comrades, the advance of other soldiers was slowed as few people were willing to move ahead into the 'kill zone' that had been established.Ares had been watching these events play out without his expression changing even a little, a small smile plastered across his immaculately sculpted face. He still believed that the small unit before them was entirely reliant on equipment and, so long as they were continually pressed, they would begin to run out of supplies while building fatigues. The existence of spatial artifacts was a very well-kept secret as of the present moment, making Ares completely unaware of the fact that the punitive force had enough supplies to repel more than ten waves of Fomoire, much less a few armies. His actions amounted to sending his men into a meat grinder that was harvesting the lives of his men much faster than they could even advance.After around fifteen minutes had passed, there was now an area of more than one-hundred meters around the punitive force, which many people could cover in an instant, now completely bereft of living soldiers. There were thousands of corpses littering the battlefield while the flames from the [Burst Oil] continued to burn, filling the air with a pungent smell of burnt flesh. This didn't reach any of the members of the punitive force, however, as Vahn was able to sweep away the smoke and pungent aroma by providing a constant stream of fresh air through his domain. Rakia's forces had no such luxury however as, even with their Generals urging them forward, there were people who would die from the fumes and flames alone, without the punitive force even needing to harvest their lives.Sobek was a little surprised with how things had gone thus far, as he had expected a few elites from Orario's side to simply throw themselves into their forces and sow chaos for a bit. This was the first time Orario had manned a standing defense, even if it was relatively small, so his expectations had been skewed by the five previous invasions. Now, he was passing orders to reform the lines, creating a perimeter around the punitive force as they tried to create a wall of shield bearers to try and box in the one hundred highly proficient killing machines. They didn't have the option of actually trying to attack Orario, where tens of thousands of people were watching atop the massive City walls. From the very beginning, this endeavor had only been to satiate Ares' desire to try and conquer Orario, a City known to simply be unconquerable through direct methods...Seeing that Sobek had begun to direct the army to back away and reform, Ares' expression changed for the first time, showing a frown as he cursed, "Sobek will always be a coward....haaaa..." From Ares' perspective, a direct battle, where both sides fought for dominance and tried to conquer the other, was 'real' War. He didn't care for things like strategy, believing that individual prowess, and battle itself, were the only things that mattered. The fact that Orario would usually only send out a few Level 5-6 Adventurers to rout his armies was a perfect example of this simple truth. He was a little surprised by the fact that the 'weaklings' that relied on equipment had managed to hold out for so long but, now that the other four armies were beginning to pull back, Ares knew it was his time to shine.The frown on Ares' face slowly faded away, replaced by a confident look and zeal that spread around him, causing the few elites that had formed around him to show battle-crazed expressions of their own. A short ways away, Ioke also pulled her massive battleax out of the ground, her mouth opening slightly to reveal sharpened teeth that were similar to Fenrir's when she got angry. The blood-red in her irises began to dance around like a liquid that was contained by the structure of her eyes, giving her a very strange and eerie appearance, almost as if there was actual blood contained within. This wasn't entirely incorrect either, as Ioke's Slaughter Divinity gave her access to actual Slaughter Laws, causing a bloody red aura to begin wrapping around her body and ax as she prepared to throw herself into battle...Seeing the gods were about to move, Vahn knew it was time for him to take action as well so he sent his commands to Haruhime who quickly relayed them to the punitive force. In an instant, the force broke apart into four different platoons that dispersed towards the four armies that had been boxing them in. They moved as one, advancing on the restructuring enemy lines and sowing even greater chaos in the battle as Haruhime stood alone before Ares' army. As nobody had expected the turtling force to suddenly fan out, even Ares was slightly taken aback before he began to laugh out loud. With the speed of the punitive force, he realized that each person was around the strength of his own Generals, not some weak prey that had been waiting for them to make a move.Jumping off his horse, Ares shouldered his golden claymore as he shouted, "This is starting to look like fun...!" Right now, Haruhime stood before his army alone, completely unflustered by the army that was moving to surround her, catcalling and taunting her as they prepared to jump on her like a pack of wolves. Even so, none of them actually moved forward as they had already identified her as the 'General' of the enemy forces. Nobody wanted to be the first to make a move as, without any doubt whatsoever, it would likely mean their death. It was Ares himself who took action first, pulling a small golden shortbow that had the motif of a lion carved into it.Instead of a physical arrow, Ares pulled back the string of his bow as the surrounding elemental energy converged together, forming what appeared to be an arrow of light. He unhesitantly loosed it toward Haruhime, causing it to trace an inviolable arc as it pierced through her chest a moment later. This caused Ares to raise one of his brows as the smile on his face became even more excited, undeterred by the fact that Haruhime had turned into a haze before reappearing outside of the arrow's original trajectory. From the beginning of the battle, her Innate had already been in effect, subtly altering the perception of Ares' forces while Haruhime herself appeared unmoving.Ares was preparing to loose another arrow to test the limits of Haruhime's abilities but his action was interrupted when, unexpectedly, a massive pillar of light appeared at the very back of the army. His head snapped around, genuine surprise and confusion on his face as in the distance, Sobek's body was breaking down as his Arcanum was burned in an attempt to kill Haruhime. She had used [Shundo] to appear at the god's side undetected, cutting him at the waist and bisecting his body. Sobek had been caught completely off-guard as his Arcanum disintegrated Haruhime's body, once again showing it had been a simple illusion, not the person herself.When the pillar of light had faded away, Haruhime's figure seemingly stepped out of the void as she brandished her [Sakura Blossom] with a cold smile on her face. The soldiers who had been at Sobek's side, who had been standing around in confusion as their god was slain, now faded away in a haze, revealing that they had already been killed by Haruhime. Her pale-gold eyes glimmered as her tails flickered around behind her, causing those who beheld her to take in sharp breaths while their hearts beat furiously in their chests.For some, they found themselves awash with a warm breeze like spring, filled with the scent of flowers, as sakura petals danced around them. In the next moment, however, this 'dream' faded as those very same petals cut through their body like a tempestuous wind, tearing them asunder as Haruhime, a Level 7, danced through enemy lines. She cut down hundreds as if the sounds of slaughter were an accompanying tune, an elegant smile on her face that made those within the effective area of her domain completely helpless to resist...Seeing Haruhime's capabilities, Ares didn't even care that Sobek had been killed as he ran forward with incredible momentum, charging straight into Haruhime's domain. When the pink petals swept towards him, Ares brandished his claymore, sweeping them away in an instant as a crazed smile spread across his face. Haruhime's brows moved slightly as she muttered in a soft voice, "You are my Master's prey..." while sweeping her katana towards Ares. An icy blue aura had shrouded her body for a moment, greatly increasing her physical parameters as her blade clashed with Ares'. From Ares' perspective, it felt like he had just been hit by a mountain as he was forced back several hundred meters, crashing through his own men and breaking their bodies apart with his momentum.Feeling his hands numbed by the strike, Ares was undaunted and instead felt greater anticipation as he began to laugh loudly. The next moment, his instincts caused his temples to tremble as he swept his sword to the side and blocked an invisible arrow that had been aimed toward his heart. With his golden eyes shining, Ares looked toward the sky where Vahn was standing with his [Khryselakatos] in hand. The two made eye contact as Ares' lion's mane like hair began to stand on ends, a war cry escaping his lips that caused all soldiers in the surroundings, from Vahn's perspective, to become covered in a golden aura. This was ultimately futile against Haruhime while Vahn's response was to begin loosing a literal rain of arrows upon Ares.Instead of retreating, Ares began laughing boisterously as his sword danced around like a golden tempest, cutting through each arrow with ease. It was only when one of the arrows triggered his instincts that the battle-crazed god moved to the side, sending waves of golden energy to clash with the dangerous arrows that seemed to home in on his vitals with ridiculous precision. Vahn, seeing Ares able to withstand his barrage, was slightly surprised but, considering his parameters had dropped by half after Ares blocked his [Call of the Reaper], it made a lot of sense. Now, to put more pressure on the golden god, Vahn began firing arrows 'randomly', many of which weren't even aimed at Ares at all...Without exception, these randomly fired arrows drew sharp arcs through the air as they all converged towards Ares from every conceivable angle. Amongst these arrows was a total of ten [Yi], each charged with the power of a single 'sun'. This time, Ares stopped swinging his sword and instead pointed it toward Vahn as he released a loud shout that resonated through the battlefield. The golden energy around his body more than doubled in size as a pillar of light passed through where Vahn had been located previously. Even if Ares could fight on par with a Level 7 for a short while, there was nothing in his millions of years of experience that could prepare him for a battle against Vahn.Having easily evaded Ares' attack with [Shundo], Vahn appeared right behind the golden god, undeterred by the golden energy that seemed to be trying to rip his body apart. Without any intention of causing any harm, Vahn reached out his hand and placed it against the top of Ares' golden mane of hair. Vahn had already identified that Ares was able to 'read' bloodlust and intent so, instead of trying to harm Ares, Vahn did the exact opposite. This caused the briefest of gaps in Ares' awareness as a confused look appeared in his golden eyes.In this momentary gap, the ten [Yi] arrows that Vahn had fired smashed into Ares' weakened aura and impacted his body. Now, Ares' eyes widened greatly as the golden aura around his body exploded outward in an attempt to resist the ten gravitational singularities threatening to tear him apart. Since he didn't use his Arcanum, this endeavor was ultimately unsuccessful as Vahn pulled his hand away, saying, "War will change in the future...your era is over, Ares..." As even his own body was being pulled apart by the powerful gravitational forces, Vahn quickly escaped the affected area. At the same time, Ares simply laughed in response before shouting, "War is eternal..!" as his body was torn apart and converted into particles of light.(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Meat Grinder','Haruhime over here being more decisive than Vahn...','Ares is surprisingly not petty...')https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu &lt;-(p.atreon link)paypal.me/EinlionDiscord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE

Chapter 910: Chaos