Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Sensing her connection with Wesser and Ratten weaken, the Leader of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin, Black Percher's face formed into a pout.
"This must be the result of the Sage Dragon Emperor's influence...how troublesome..."
Despite her words, the pout of Black Percher's face formed into a fierce smile as she raised her hands to her sides, the fabric of her inordinately oversized sleeves dangling well past her hands as she said, "No matter. Once the pestilence takes hold, not even the Sage Dragon Emperor will be able to prevent us from accumulating allies."
By the time Black Percher was finished speaking, a large volume of black mist had started to flow from the ends of her sleeves. At the same time, the 14m tall, vaguely ghost-like golem she was standing atop raised its arms and began releasing tempestuous winds from the holes adorning its body.
"Let's see how quickly you come begging me for a solution...!"
Propelled by the winds of the golem, a type of Intermediate Wind Spirit known as Strom, Black Percher's black mist began to spread through the city. To make matters exponentially worse, at least for the inhabitants of Kouen City, several other Stroms, encircling the city, raised their arms to generate massive storm clouds overhead. Their purpose was to create a localized natural disaster and strain the Salamandra Community's ability to respond to and treat the plague that was secretly spreading as a result of Black Percher's mist.
So long as they could make the residents of Kouen City lose hope, the ranks of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin would steadily increase until they were able to subsume the entire Gate. At least, that's what Black Percher, the Demon Lord of the Black Plague, was hoping would happen...
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Seeing the clouds gathering overhead, Sandora's expression darkened nearly as much as the sky as she muttered, "There is a foul stench in the air..."
Though she wasn't entirely sure what the enemy was planning, Sandora had always possessed a remarkable intuition. The Gift Game prevented her from using her power and Authority as a Floor Master, but she could still sense 'something' dangerous to the West.
"Mandra, brother, take charge here. I will go and confront the enemy directly."
Hearing his sister's remark, Mandra wanted to argue, but Sandora had already taken to the sky like a bright orange meteor. Since he could not fly without the aid of a Flying Drake or Wyvern, he could only furrow his pronounced brows in concern, whispering, "Please keep my sister safe..." before continuing to direct the evacuation...
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"Hmmm...?"
Though Mandra hadn't invoked his name, the sincerity of his request allowed it to reach Vahn's ears. He immediately shifted his attention to Sandora and the group plotting to steal her regalia, but the latter hadn't made a move.
Realizing the true motivation for Mandra's request, a moderately amused smile developed across Vahn's face as he whispered, "I suppose an older brother must worry about his younger sister..."
Hearing Vahn's remark, Shiroyasha responded with a soft, "Nn..." without opening her eyes or liberating herself from his embrace. She was keeping tabs on everything, just as Vahn was, so she knew that Sandora wasn't in any immediate danger. Rather, due to the ring adorning her finger and the crown atop her head, there was very little her current opponent could do against her.
Vahn may not have planned for the Demon Lord's attack, but his concern for his loved ones gave them an absolute advantage against anyone that relied on poisons, diseases, and things like mind control...
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Reaching her destination in seconds, Sandora immediately noticed Black Percher standing atop one of her Stroms, asking, "Are you the one behind this?"
Instead of answering Sandora's inquiry, Black Percher squinted her eyes and said, "Sandora Doltdrake...Leader of Salamandra and Floor Master of the North. You are brave to approach me on your own...brave, yet foolish."
Punctuating her words, Black Percher raised her hand and sent a column of black mist towards Sandora. The latter was going to scatter it with her flames, but this ultimately proved unnecessary as the mist dispersed into motes of pure white light the moment it trespassed within 5m of her.
"..."
"..."
Following a brief pause, Sandora smiled as she held up her left hand to reveal her glowing engagement ring, teasing, "Sorry, Miss Demon Lord, but the power of love protects me."
Visibly cringing, Black Percher's expression formed into one of disgust as she raised both arms and shouted, "Then you'll have someone to mourn you...!"
Instead of a hazy black mist, two dark-purple 'beams' erupted from Black Percher's sleeves. It was basically the same attack, but this time she had empowered it with her Spirit Energy.
Though she believed in the power of Vahn's love, Sandora's instincts were telling her to dodge. Her ring may be able to purify the miasma, but it had absolutely no effect on the kinetic energy contained within the blast.
Demonstrating her quick reaction speed and her extraordinary flexibility, Sandora practically pirouetted around the beams of purple energy as she brought her fore and index fingers to her lips. When she opened her eyes, Black Percher could see they had formed into thin slits as Sandora's lungs filled with a phenomenal amount of Fire Elemental and Spirit Energy.
Realizing the danger she was in, Black Percher promptly abandoned the Strom, her figure appearing to flicker out of existence just as a veritable tidal wave of bright orange flames enveloped her previous position. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it was a very apt description as the flames didn't immediately disperse. Instead, they washed over the wall and spread along its surface like napalm as Sandora swept her breath in the direction Black Percher had dodged.
"Damn brat...!"
Seeing Sandora's flames sweeping towards her, Black Percher waved her hand to create a wall of luminescent, brackish-purple mist. It managed to prevent the breath from washing over and consuming her; but, due to the inherent purification properties of flames, the wall was quickly dissolving away as a loud, hissing sound emanated through the area.
Putting even greater pressure on Black Percher, Sandora's expression became severe as she increased the amount of Spirit Energy she was channeling into her breath. The plume of flames erupting from her lips began to contract until, less than a second later, a high-pitched whirring echoed across the entire city as her breath condensed into a laser-like beam of light.
Though she dodged at the last moment, Black Percher's expression paled as Sandora's breath cut through the protective membrane of miasma and pierced her side in an instant. The wound healed almost instantaneously, but the pain was comparable to having a white-hot skewer stabbed into her abdomen.
Evading the subsequent sweeping of Sandora's laser-like breath, Black Percher's thought process briefly stalled when she noticed the orange-haired Dragoness wasn't aiming at her. Instead, her breath was cutting through the Stroms that had encircled the city like an unreasonably hot knife through butter.
Feeling something 'snap' inside of her, Black Percher charged towards Sandora rather than producing her trademarked black mist. Her actions were so unexpected, at least from the perspective of Sandora, that the latter's breath practically exploded in her face as she narrowly evaded a sweep from oversized metallic claws that had emerged from within Black Percher's sleeves.
Demonstrating she wasn't just a long-range combatant, Black Percher's body blurred as she quickly entered within Sandora's range, her forehead striking the startled Princess in the nose.
Intending to take advantage of the moment when Sandora instinctually grabbed at her face, it was Black Percher's turn to be surprised when the former grabbed her wrists and returned a headbutt of her own.
Despite her delicate appearance, Sandora was still a Dragon. She had also accumulated a tremendous amount of experience training with Vahn and fighting to save the world, so it would take a lot more than a headbutt to disorient her.
A stark contrast to Sandora, Black Percher had just recently manifested in the Divine Realm. This was the first fight she had ever been in, so, despite knowing she shouldn't, she ended up covering her face and nose as tears built in the corners of her eyes.
Thinking her opponent was trying to mislead her into lowering her guard, Sandora ignored Black Percher's tears and planted an explosive fist into the petite Demoness's gut. Black Percher's durability was nothing to scoff at, but she ended up being blasted back hundreds of meters and through numerous buildings. When she subsequently charged out of the cloud of dust and debris caused by her union with the ground, a part of her gothic-style dress had been burned away, revealing a charred yet rapidly healing cavity in her stomach.
"You're going to pay for that...!"
Surprised by her opponent's shrill and indignant scream, Sandora was nearly grazed by the tip of the skyscraper-sized black spear that had erupted from Black Percher's sleeve. In the very next moment, however, she grabbed the shaft of the spear, her fingers sinking into its surface as she spun around and swung both it and Black Percher into the city wall.
"Gwak...!"
Impacting the wall at a bad angle, the air was forced from Black Percher's lungs as her back and body contorted in a way that would cause anyone who looked upon her to inhale sharply. Her nature as an amalgamation of more than 80 million Spirits made her practically immortal, but it was still a frightful sight to behold.
Accompanied by the unbearable sounds of bones popping and breaking, Black Percher quickly reverted to her original form. Her complexion was ghastly, and a few beads of sweat could be seen beneath her brow, but her fighting spirit hadn't waned in the slightest.
"Just you wait...every ounce of pain you inflict on to me...I will return it to you a billion-fold..."
Flaring her hands outward, Black Percher manifested a pair of pitch-black wings formed of purple-black miasma. At the same time, matching black katana blades erupted from her sleeves as she charged towards Sandora like a beam of eerie black light.
Compelled by her instincts, Sandora teleported away from the trajectory of Black Percher's attack just as the enraged Demoness carved two 30m long rifts in the void. Her speed and power had drastically increased, so much so that Sandora could feel goose pimples breaking out across her body as she muttered, "You're not a Demon Lord...you're a Divine Spirit!"
Instead of responding to Sandora's outburst, Black Percher adopted a malicious smile as she generated a massive scythe and sliced it toward the befuddled Dragoness. Sandora responded by manifesting an ornate golden trident, but she was still sent crashing into the ground like a tiny, Princess-shaped bullet...
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"Hmmm...I expected the Floor Master of the North to be a little stronger. Could she be holding back for the sake of the city...?"
Responding to the golden-haired beauty's words, a masked female knight with long, pure white hair tied together by a black ribbon asked, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, my Queen. But shouldn't we be helping out?"
Dismissively waving her hand, the golden-haired beauty, more famously known as Queen Halloween, answered, "No. According to our agreement with the Demon of the White Night, we will not intrude unless the Demon God awakens and proves too much for the Sage Dragon God to handle. If that happens, I'll be relying on you to help protect the civilians."
Though she didn't like the idea of just standing around, the masked knight nodded her head in response to her Master's words. Fortunately, Sandora still had a lot of fight left to give. In fact, much like Black Percher, she was just getting warmed up...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Black Death? More like Body Odor...!','Fun Fact: All of the Demon Lords that appear in the Mondaiji Anime are Lolis...','Sandora emerges from the rubble, blood trickling from beneath &nbsp;as she points her trident at Black Percher and shouts, "Ban...kai...!"')

"Give up. I am empowered by the spirits of the more than 80 million victims of the Black Plague. You cannot hope to defeat me."
Though revealing information related to her origin could place her at a disadvantage, Black Percher wanted to see Sandora despair. Many of the spirits comprising her existence had been burned alive or cremated after death, so while flames were effective against her, they also served to stir the anger and resentment of her constituent spirits. These were the very emotions that powered her Divinity, so, the more pain and misery she was forced to endure, the more powerful Black Percher became.
Indicative of this, Black Percher's body was slowly yet visibly maturing. At the beginning of the fight, she resembled a girl no older than ten. Now, as a result of Sandora's attacks, her height had increased from around 131cm to 143cm. Her figure hadn't changed all that much, but it was beginning to show the signs of transitioning from a prepubescent girl to a teen.
Noticing the changes in her opponent's body, Sandora narrowly evaded the massive, 50m long scythe that attempted to bisect her at the waist. In the same motion, she stabbed her trident into the space next to her, the tip completely disappearing into the void as she asked, "Why are you attacking my Community? With power like yours, you could have gained a foothold in the Outer Gates. It doesn't make sense for you to antagonize a Floor Master in your debut as a Demon Lord..."
Furrowing her brows, Black Percher dissipated her giant scythe, replacing it with a pair of sickles attached to chains. Instead of attacking, however, she began to retreat backward, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the glistening golden trident in Sandora's possession.
In an attempt to cut off her opponent's path, Sandora formed a seal with her left hand, shouting, "I don't think so...!" as rings of fire formed around Black Percher's biceps, ankles, and neck.
Feeling the weight of her body increase by several orders of magnitude, Black Percher clicked her tongue as her dress spontaneously burst into dark purple flames. When they faded away, a rather stylish suit of black and purple armor replaced much of her previous outfit. The top was a form-fitting black breastplate that left her shoulders exposed. As for the rest, it consisted of black tassets that followed the contours of her skirt, a pair of black greaves with rather prominent heels, and a head guard that protected her neck, cheeks, and chin but left the rest of her head largely unprotected.
Dissipating the sickle in her left hand, Black Percher reached up to grasp the collar of fire around her neck. She still had her oversized sleeves, but a black and purple gauntlet came into view as she tore away the ring with a simple tug.
"You dare try to collar me...?"
Since her opponent had previously ignored her, Sandora responded to Black Percher's question by cutting her fingers towards the ground. The rings around her arms and legs caused her to fall towards the city streets as Sandora removed her trident from the void to reveal its tip glowing like the core of a star.
One of the 'secret techniques' Sandora had learned from Vahn was how to absorb energy directly from the void. There were places where Elemental and Spiritual Energy simply didn't exist, at least not in a tangible form. The void, however, provided a functionally infinite supply as it was a domain of endless reserve. It was just very, very difficult to access, much less use.
"Though I'm sure you have your reasons, I cannot allow you to endanger the lives of my friends and companions! Take this...!"
Though she managed to get out quite a few words, the interval between the start of Sandora's attack and the moment she stabbed her trident into Black Percher's chest was only 0.00000003 seconds. She could go much, much faster, but she was holding back to try and limit the damage to her surroundings. Each of the buildings encircling her was someone's home or place of business; Sandora didn't want to destroy their hard work.
With this in mind, Sandora controlled the energy released from her trident to pierce nearly Black Percher's breastplate, body, and 3km of the ground beneath her. The ambient temperature increased to the point that several buildings caught fire, but that was promptly resolved thanks to the storm incited by Black Percher and her Stroms.
Grabbing the shaft of Sandora's trident, Black Percher rasped, "So long as our grudge remains...we will never perish..."
Instead of refuting Black Percher's words, Sandora nodded her head and said, "That may be. Unfortunately for you, this trident wasn't made to take lives..."
Punctuating her words, Sandora twisted her trident as if she were turning a key. To Black Percher's immense shock, there was no pain produced by this action. Instead, she felt as if all the power had drained from her body as Sandora removed the trident to reveal unblemished, fair white skin and an intricate tattoo resembling a keyhole.
"Vahn is far kinder than you can imagine. He imbued this trident with four different enchantments. The first, Mercy Strike, ensures that even a fatal blow would always leave an opponent with enough life to recover. As for the other three, the most relevant to this situation is its ability to seal the power of people it otherwise would have killed."
No longer injured, Black Percher attempted to leap to her feet, but the weight of her armor prevented her from so much as sitting upright. The material appeared thin and form-fitting, but even her gauntlets weighed as much as 60kgs. With her strength reduced to that of a pubescent girl, all she could do was glare at Sandora as she shouted, "Don't think this is over! You may have defeated me and destroyed my Stroms, but I've been releasing my miasma throughout the city for weeks! Unless you can clear the game and restore the light of the Sun, it's only a matter of time before my pestilence claims every member of your Community!"
Though she furrowed her brows, Sandora didn't take the teary-eyed Demoness's threat seriously. Vahn would never allow something like a plague to run rampant throughout the city. Even if it took days for them to complete the game, there was no danger of anyone dying or surrendering to escape illness.
Believing in the man, no, the God she had spent the last seven and a half years living with, Sandora repeated her earlier question, asking, "Why did you target my Community? Even if there was a personal grudge between us, attacking with Vahn present was incredibly foolish."
Snorting through her nose, Black Percher attempted to turn her head but found the action impossible due to her headguard. Her only option was to avert her eyes in a vain attempt to evade Sandora's line of sight.
"..."
Realizing her opponent wasn't going to reveal anything of her own accord, Sandora briefly considered her options before calling out, "Vahn? Can you hear me?"
Hearing Sandora talking to herself, Black Percher was about to ask if she had gone soft in the head. Before the words could leave her lips, however, &nbsp;the space next to her wavered as Vahn appeared out of thin air, a relaxed smile on his face as he answered, "Of course."
Not expecting Vahn to appear directly, even Sandora was surprised until she realized the reason, asking, "Did you predict this outcome...?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn casually replied, "The rules prohibit killing. I also know you're not the type to strike someone down without knowing the motive behind their actions..."
Shifting his gaze away from Sandora's, Vahn briefly met Black Percher's carmine eyes before pulling out a blanket, covering her body, and adding, "Your subordinates, Ratten and Wesser, have already been defeated. Are you certain you wish to continue this farce...?"
Adopting a glare that was more cute than terrifying, Black Percher replied, "So long as I draw breath, I will never cease seeking revenge against all those related to the Sun. No one deserves to receive the Sun's grace after what we were forced to experience...!"
"Mmm...is that so?"
Crouching next to the enfeebled Demoness, Vahn disregarded her literal hissing as he placed his palm on her abdomen. There was a thick blanket, a thin layer of armor, and a dress separating them, but his hand was able to pass through all of them before sinking into her body directly.
With a wave of panic washing over her, Black Percher's breathing began to accelerate as she anxiously exclaimed, "Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing!? Get your hand out of there...!"
Without ceasing his actions, Vahn asked, "If our positions were reversed, would you listen to my pleas? Or would they simply make you excited...?"
Though the only sensation she felt as a result of Vahn's invasive actions was a feeling of warmth spreading through her abdomen, Black Percher did her best to writhe about as she exclaimed, "You...you don't know what you're talking about!"
Even with her Divinity sealed, Black Percher was so used to speaking the truth that she didn't consider lying. Instead, she was doing everything in her power to avoid answering Vahn's questions. If he knew the truth, that she would delight in every moment of his suffering, she had no doubt he would return the favor in excess.
Seeing through the panicking Demoness's thoughts, Vahn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he used his Godhand and Hands of Nirvana to purify the amalgamation of negative energy encompassing and polluting her Divine Core. He was unable to change her nature as a Divine Spirit of Vengenace, but he could easily purify the negative energies contained in the 80 million Spirits comprising her. He had done something similar with Weiss, and she had well over a billion...
Feeling a warm and fuzzy sensation permeating her body, Black Percher gradually ceased her struggles. She had no clue what Vahn was doing, but, whatever it was, it wasn't painful. In fact, it was feeling better with each passing moment. As outlandish as it sounded, it evoked the distant memory of the time when she would rest her head against her mother's lap, the warm rays of the Sun beating down on her as a cool breeze blew over the meadow where they frequently picnicked...
In a markedly calmer voice than before, Black Percher listlessly inquired, "What are you...doing to me...?"
Retracting his hand from Black Percher's body, Vahn's smile softened as he replied, "I'm fulfilling the sincerest desire you and the eighty million Spirits within you have harbored these past seven centuries. I'm healing you..."
Despite the indescribably pleasant feelings permeating her body, Black Percher managed a severe pout as she softly complained, "You have no right..."
Without missing a beat, Vahn ruffled the petite Demoness's purple hair as he retorted, "I have about as much as your right to infect others..."
Unable to avoid Vahn's palm, Black Percher's pout amplified as she tried, in vain, to snap at him with her small but prominent fangs. With her horn-like hair accessory vaguely resembling the ears of a cat, she gave off the impression of a stray yet declawed kitten. She was very, very aggressive, but ultimately harmless...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The bad guy, moments before their defeat: "You cannot hope to defeat me!"','Black Percher's behavior reminds me of that 'very angry frog' meme...','Now she is going to be running around like Eula, screaming, "Vengeance!" without any genuine animosity xD...')

After departing the coliseum, Izayoi, aided by his whale-like Companion, Seiun, darted across the sky like a pale-blue meteorite.
While Izayoi's senses were nowhere near the level of Vahn's, he could detect bloodlust and hostility across vast distances. The woman he had sent flying the previous day had apparently held a grudge towards him, as, shortly after the Black Geass Rolls appeared, he detected her anger towards him from several tens of kilometers away.
Fortunately for the woman, less so for her companion, she wasn't alone this time around. He had already determined her to be a non-threat, at least to him, so Izayoi's first target was her pointy-eared companion, a man with spikey black hair and an outfit reminiscent of a German Army Officer.
"What the-"
Before the man could finish exclaiming his surprise, Izayoi grabbed his head and smashed him into the wall surrounding the city. He was tempted to smash the man through it, but, understanding that would end with him being forced onto the enemy team, Izayoi held back quite a bit.
"It's you, that damnable man with the headphones...!"
Having learned her lesson from the previous day, the scantily clad blonde, Ratten, attempted to fly up and away from Izayoi, flute in hand. She knew she wasn't Izayoi's match, so she intended to assist the man buried in the wall, a Low-Class Demon named Wesser.
Demonstrating that he was far more durable than his companion, Wesser managed to endure Izayoi's retrained blow without losing consciousness. More importantly, he managed to convert a large section of the city wall into a mud-like substance, temporarily trapping him and Izayoi as he spat up blood and groaned, "Cocky bastard..."
Only marginally inconvenienced by the thick layer of mud, Izayoi drew back his right fist, a cheeky smile on his face as he rebutted, "You idiots targetted a Community hosting the Sage Dragon Emperor, and you have the gall to call me cocky? Your Leader had better be a badass, or this is going to be a stomp."
With the intent of punctuating his words, Izayoi threw his fist towards the snarling demon, only for his body to temporarily freeze as the sound of a flute reached his ears.
Seeing Izayoi stop mid-swing, a wicked expression developed across Wesser's face until the former's fist promptly impacted it. Ratten's flute had halted his movements, but, unfortunately for the two demons, Vahn was the one who repaired Izayoi's headphones following his stay in the Game Board. Not only were they borderline indestructible, but they could play music from Izayoi's original world while simultaneously blocking out all sounds from the outside.
"You assholes are so going to pay for making me owe that lizard a favor..."
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After seeing Izayoi resist the compulsion of her flute, Ratten immediately turned tail and flew away. Her task was to mind control people and cause chaos, not fight some monstrous pretty boy with more than enough bite to back up his bark.
Unfortunately for Ratten, she soon found her path blocked by Asuka and Yo. Her expression immediately soured, and, for a very brief moment, she felt like crying as she brought her flute up to her lips and said, "Get out of my way...!"
While Asuka instinctually commanded Abyssinian to cover her ears, Yo charged forward with the intention of preventing Ratten from playing her flute. Her reserves were spent after using a hybrid transformation during the Finals, but her Maneki-neko was more than willing to provide its own.
Not expecting Yo to be so fast, Ratten cursed the Communities that were supposed to be supporting her own as the former's comparably small fist impacted the same spot as Izayoi's. She managed to avoid being knocked out, but the pain made her wish she had been.
Adding insult to literal injury, Asuka waved her open hand towards Ratten, her voice echoing through the void as she shouted, "Drop your flute!" in a commanding tone. Ratten attempted to resist, but the last thing she saw before Yo placed her in a chokehold was Asuka enthusiastically grabbing her flute before it could fall to the streets below...
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As the rules didn't strictly prohibit her from moving around, Shiroyasha elected to join Vahn, Vanilla, and Caramel in the comfort of his room. Her status as Host Master prevented her from providing any help or feedback, so she figured she might as well enjoy Vahn's pampering as he kept tabs on events happening throughout the city.
Though the rules prohibited their creation, Vahn's domain had never been a representative example of the ability. His [Will of the Emperor] was also SSS-Rank, equivalent to Laplace and the Central Network itself. Unless he 'agreed' to play by the rules, there wasn't a force in the Divine Realm that could compel him to do so.
Fortunately for his would-be enemies, Vahn knew this event was at least partially the result of Mandra's machinations. It was a ploy concocted to silence Sandora's critics by demonstrating, once and for all, that she was capable of dealing with Demon Lords and carrying out her responsibilities as Floor Master. Vahn didn't wholly agree with his methods, but he could understand Mandra's desire to support his sister.
The far more significant threat was the forces pulling the strings behind Mandra and the Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Vahn knew at least six different groups were coordinating with each other, two serving as diversions, one targetting Sandora's crown and horn, one targetting Shiroyasha's life, and two entire Communities targetting him.
Though he asked her to keep mum regarding the specifics, Vahn hadn't been able to resist asking Loi-chan about each group's objectives. Their penultimate goal was clearly to release the seal on the Demon God, but his very existence had thrown a wrench into that plan.
While thinking about what he would do if the enemy attempted to lure him into an 'unwinnable' Gift Game, Vahn ran his fingers through Shiroyasha's pale-blue, perennially warm hair. She was currently playing the part of his little spoon as any overtly intimate acts could be seen as 'collusion' due to the remarkable potency of his seminal fluid.
Voicing one of the many thoughts lingering in Vahn(s) mind, Shiroyasha whispered, "We should do this more often...I almost forgot how relaxing your aura can be when you aren't hopped up on lust..."
Resisting the urge to point out that she was frequently the one riling him up, the Vahn spooning Shiroyasha planted a kiss on her head. At the same time, his other self adopted a faint smile as he continued gently caressing the heads of the two girls using his lap as a pillow.
Compared to the chaos outside, the atmosphere within the suite was truly serene.
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"It would appear your hypothesis was correct, Rin. So long as we do not directly anger or offend him, the Sage Dragon Emperor seems satisfied with simply observing."
Happy to receive praise, a radiant smile developed across Rin's face as she merrily chimed, "I told you so. Beings like the Sage Dragon Emperor live according to a stringent set of rules. We just need to figure out what they are, and he's easy to plan around."
Nodding his head in affirmation, the white-haired youth standing next to Rin waved his hand to change the spherical display to show Sandora. For a very brief moment, a glimmer of conflict flashed across his eyes before promptly disappearing as he asked, "So, what now? Do we tell the others to pull back, or should we continue with our original plan? I get the feeling that man won't just sit around if we target something that belongs to him."
With a noticeably more cramped smile, Rin nervously combed through her hair as she answered, "I'm not entirely sure. We don't have nearly enough data on the Sage Dragon Emperor's omniscience or sensory abilities. If he thinks, even for a moment, we intend to hurt Sandora, he will probably kill us all. Our best bet is to leverage the lives of the people of Salamandra in an exchange, but I can't imagine the Sage Dragon Emperor behaving if we start killing hostages..."
Furrowing his brows, the white-haired youth, Highness, raised his hand to stare at his palm. He was relatively confident he could at least stall Vahn; the question was whether or not it would be enough. As far as they could tell, Vahn had near-absolute dominion over the flow of time within a given area. They ascribed this ability to an unseen domain, but if it turned out to be something 'more', it might not matter what they do.
"Though we have never met, I sincerely hate that Shiroyasha woman..."
Exhaling a sigh, Rin groaned, "I agree with you completely. While I can understand her motives, inviting the Sage Dragon Emperor into the Divine Realm was an outrageous decision. At this rate, it may only be a few years before the Little Garden has a new ruler..."
As Vahn had exceeded their expectations at every turn, Rin had no doubt he would continue growing faster than they could plan around him. It had taken him less than a year to acquire one of the lowest-digit Gates in the Little Garden. If the rumors alleging him to be the Progenitor of Dragons continued to gain traction, he might very well become the most powerful being in Creation. After all, every major Authority, even those of the Sun, manifested in the form of Pure-Blooded Dragons...
Just as Highness was about to make a suggestion to help Rin come up with a plan, one of the mirrors lining the wall of their hideout began to emit a pale white light. Shortly after that, the visage of a woman with a dark hood covering half her face came into view, stating, "It's no good. The space surrounding the Sage Dragon's Hearth is as impregnable as always. To make matters worse, we have confirmed the presence of the Sage Dragon Emperor within his castle. Are you certain the one on your end is the real deal...?"
Though he wasn't traditionally very expressive, Highness couldn't help hanging his head and rubbing his temples when he heard the woman's report. They knew about Vahn's ability to create 'clones' of himself, but the ongoing Gift Game should have made that impossible. The moment the Central Network detected a version of him outside of Kouen City, he should have been compelled to join the Grimm Grimoire Hamlin.
Hazarding a guess, Rin suggested, "Perhaps we were wrong. Instead of clones, there is a possibility that each of the Sage Dragon Emperors we have seen thus far is an Avatara. We already know that most of the core members of the Aldrnari Empire were created by him. Since there were no records of his existence before his emergence in the Divine Realm, who's to say he didn't simply...create himself?"
"You suspect him to be Self-Actualizing? If that were the case, how was Shiroyasha able to summon him? The Lower Realms do not support the concept of Self-Actualized beings. Such an aberration would completely disrupt the balance of Creation..."
Realizing what he was saying, Highness's expression turned grim as the entire room fell into an eerie silence. After all, his refusal was basically a textbook definition of Vahn's existence. Everything about the latter was anomalous, so much so that every attempt they made to understand him resulted in them learning just how little they truly knew...
Voicing the thought on everyone's minds, the hooded woman, Aura, softly muttered, "By the Gods...if what you say is true, the Sage Dragon Emperor is basically a Poet writing himself into the story of Creation itself. How can we hope to oppose such a being...?"
Answering without a moment's hesitation, Rin's eyes briefly lost focus as she listlessly replied, "That's all we can do...within the rules that the Sage Dragon Emperor, himself, has set..."
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Getting hit on a bruise hurts like hell...','Vahn does what he wants...','When you realize the person you're trying to gank in PvP is the Admin...')

Chapter 2282: Fire Dragon vs. Black Percher