Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Unable to respond to Vahn's question via words, the shapely Dragoness grabbed his forearm before attempting to wrap her legs and tail around his waist and torso. At the same time, the vibrant blue runic halo behind her back began to emit thick bands of similarly blue lightning that ripped apart the surrounding space.
Though he managed to hinder the woman's tail with his free hand, Vahn's expression morphed into a deadpan as her thick and powerful legs locked around him. She was nearly 210cm tall, so, in his base form, the woman's thighs were almost as thick as his admittedly slender waist.
As his body began to swell up, Vahn pulled the woman's face closer to his own before pushing her away with enough force to send a small moon out of orbit. Due to her comparatively small size, she ended up tumbling away from him at relativistic speeds, her body crashing through the vibrant blue halo and energy-formed wings that had previously anchored her in place.
Not affording the woman any time to rest, Vahn instantaneously appeared in the path of her flight, his hands briefly gripping the tip of her tail before promptly letting go due to the massive gashes caused by her electric blue spines.
"Hmmm..."
Staring at the blood streaming and subsequently evaporating from his hands, Vahn allowed the mysterious Dragoness to arrest her momentum as he remarked, "Your body pulses with the energy of destruction...you're no ordinary scumbag..."
Snorting through her nose, the dark-skinned Dragoness flicked her tail to produce a large, crescent-shaped gash in the fabric of Space-Time as she said, "The heathens of the Little Garden believe you possess the Origin of all Pure-Blooded Dragons. However, I know of at least three that reign far beyond you. You may be powerful, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, but you will soon find out how truly inconsequential you are..."
Following her words, the dark-skinned beauty appeared to be trying to escape through the portal she had created. Vahn stopped this by raising his hand and closing the portal, but, at that exact moment, far exceeding the limitations of perception itself, a pitch-black bullet pierced through his heart.
Under normal circumstances, a blow to the heart would have very little effect on Vahn. However, when this particular bullet pierced his body, it was as if the concept of mortality itself had been superimposed onto his existence. It only persisted for a fleeting moment, but it was more than enough time for the bronze-skinned woman to charge forward, her body transforming into that of a black and blue eldritch monstrosity that only vaguely resembled a serpent-like dragon.
With a body hundreds of kilometers in length and a maw large enough to swallow a small mountain, the massive serpent was able to devour Vahn with a single snap of her jaws. The moment she did so, it was like he had been transported to a completely different world, one comparable to the hellish dimension generated by Azathoth.
Though there were spire-sized teeth infinitely undulating in an attempt to pull things towards the back of the Dragon's impossibly large throat, the things that left the deepest impression were the millions, if not billions of assimilated corpses reaching out in an attempt to restrain and tear apart anything that entered within. They were like an endless ocean of people, animals, and magical creatures crying out in pain yet eager to dispense as much as possible to anything unfortunate enough to find itself within their grasp. To make matters even worse, the Laws present within the strange dimension robbed anyone within of their powers...
...
..
.
While Vahn was being pulled further into the hellish Realm that was her stomach, the dark-skinned Dragoness had an uncertain expression on her face as she tentatively caressed her exposed abdomen.
"Is it done? Did we get him...?"
Manifesting next to the woman in an outfit comprised almost entirely of ashen bones, pitch-black leather, and a shadowy shroud was a man with a helmet or, more accurately, a head resembling a demonic skull. In place of eyes, hellish flames burned within two malicious-looking sockets.
"I don't know...I can feel him within me, but he isn't being absorbed like a normal person..."
A stark contrast to the bold front she had put on earlier, the dark-skinned Dragoness felt more uneasy with each passing moment. She was immune to even the most potent poisons and toxins, but she was experiencing the same existential dread an ordinary person might feel upon learning they had just consumed something that would kill them.
Observing the Dragoness's reaction, the demonic, reaper-like individual paused for a moment before exacerbating matters as he manifested an ornate pistol carved from blackened bone and pulsing with ghostly blue energy.
"Do you have him under control or not...?"
Baring her razor-sharp teeth at the man, the paling Dragoness growled, "Death, you son of a bit-"
Without waiting for the woman to finish, the reaper-like man, one of the Avatars of Death itself, squeezed the trigger of his pistol. A pitch-black bullet traveling far beyond the speed of light emerged from the ghostly blue chamber, instantaneously piercing the center of the woman's head as he muttered, "No loose ends..." in a ghastly, bone-chilling tone.
Though she was immortal under normal circumstances, the bluish light pulsing through the draconic woman's scales instantly dissipated as she fell backward and started falling toward the ground thousands of meters below. Her body curled up in an instinctual fetal position, but the light had completely faded from her previously luminescent golden eyes...
...
..
.
Noticing the surrounding space collapsing, much like the destruction of a Realm, Vahn ceased purifying the billions of damned spirits that had been trying to subsume him.
Furrowing his brows, Vahn spoke aloud, "Was this part of their plan? If so, they have successfully broken through the very foundations of my bottom line..."
Following his words, Vahn's domain exploded outward like an unstoppable sphere of glorious golden light. Wherever it passed, the destruction of the Realm altogether ceased. At the same time, the fleshy environment began to dissolve into motes of golden light as the tormented spirits within were instantaneously purified...
...
..
.
Just as Death was preparing to return and report the completion of his mission, a golden light spontaneously erupted from the body of his former companion. Instead of pulsing with an electric blue, the ridges along her tail began radiating the purest, most glorious golden light that Death had ever observed. He could feel the energies within his body being purified, the hue of his eyes shifting from a hellish orange to a marginally lighter color as he remarked, "Impossible..."
In defiance of Death's utterance, the draconic woman's eyes snapped open, a similar golden glow emanating from her irises as she shouted, "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to rip you apart, you son of a bitch...!"
Moving far faster than her previous maximum, the draconic beauty tore away the arm Death had raised to summon his pistol. In the same motion, she sent him flying with a cataclysmic tail sweep that sent him crashing into the seemingly endless expanse of plains below with enough force to produce a crater several kilometers in diameter.
Far from finished, six sets of golden, distinctly angelic wings of light emerged from the draconic woman's back as a multi-tiered halo formed behind her. Death's eyes appeared to widen when he saw this, but due to his severe injuries, he couldn't so much as twitch his remaining pinky as a &nbsp;Dragon's Breath that seemed to blot out the entire sky promptly reduced him to dust...
...
..
.
Immediately following Death's destruction, a young man with pure white hair and heterochromatic, ghostly blue, and fiery orange eyes awakened atop a throne comprised of the bleached bones of various creatures. He appeared no older than ten years old, but his true age predated the very concept of Time.
"Leviathan...that damned fool completely forgot our objective."
Exhaling a tired sigh that caused the few organic plants in the vicinity to rapidly age and decay, the youthful-looking boy alighted from his throne before manifesting a total of twelve wings; six covered in black feathers and the remaining comprised entirely of white bone.
Despite manifesting wings, Death didn't attempt to fly to his destination. Instead, he pulled out a deceptively simple-looking black scythe that was more than twice his size in length. The blade was long, thin, and black but otherwise nondescript. However, were anyone unfortunate enough to see their reflection in the blade's pitch-black surface, they would immediately find themselves staring back at their dead body, their soul trapped within for so long as the concept of Death itself existed.
Similar to Leviathan, Death opened a portal by slashing at the fabric of Space-Time. The difference was that Death's gave off a terrifying aura reminiscent of the Abyss. If anything 'living' attempted to pass through it, they would emerge from a shadow of their former selves; a being Death oft referred to as a Hollow.
Immune to the effects of the 'Abyss's Call', Death moved through the portal before immediately wincing as his body began to hiss, almost as if acid had been poured onto him. The cause was an indescribably beautiful woman whose only identifying feature was her veil of pure white hair. The rest of her features changed depending on the person observing her. In Death's case, she resembled the non-existent woman he correlated with his mother, a peculiar entity whose features and voice he could recollect despite the fact she had never existed.
Though staring at the woman caused the fluids within his eyes to boil and evaporate, Death didn't so much as blink as he calmly stated, "We failed to kill or capture the Sage Dragon Emperor. Leviathan's Avatara may have also betrayed us."
Without saying anything, the indescribably beautiful woman waved Death away. His body was forcibly expelled from the pristine white throne room before a woman with features nearly identical to Leviathan's appeared in his place. Then, with a wave of the light-formed beauty's hand, Levithan was seemingly erased from existence as tens of thousands of Gift Cards spread across the floor of the throne room...
...
..
.
Feeling her connection to herself spontaneously sever, Leviathan's pupils contracted to thin lines as she nervously whispered, "That petty piece of shit really went and tattled on me..."
With her original likely erased from existence, the only thing preventing Leviathan from disappearing was the mysterious energy surging through her body. She knew Vahn was the source, but she was unfamiliar with the concepts contained within. She assumed it was an amalgamation of Light and Creation Energy, but that didn't really explain how the collapse of her inner world was prevented.
Placing her hand on her abdomen, Leviathan's complexion regained a bit of its vigor as she muttered, "Well, whatever he's doing, I hope he doesn't stop. I may be a being of misery and destruction, but I'd rather not cease to exist..."
Noticing golden light gathering wherever her fingers grazed, Leviathan began drawing on her exposed abdomen. As far as she was concerned, she was already dead, so all she could do now was wait for Vahn to finish whatever he was doing inside her body. So long as she was able to retain her sense of self, she didn't mind serving a new Master; She sure as Hell wasn't going to go running back to the one that had erased her...
...
..
.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn is exceptionally experienced when it comes to dealing with female Dragons (O w O)...','My Concept of Death can't be this cute...!?','Once Vahn gets inside of them, no woman is ever quite the same...')

After thoroughly stabilizing and purifying the previously hellish Realm of his opponent's stomach, Vahn surprised Leviathan by simply teleporting outside. His other selves had made this an option from the very start, but he couldn't just ignore an ocean of billions of spirits crying out in pain.
With Vahn shifting his attention to her, his eyes squinting in displeasure, Leviathan recovered enough of her faculties to bend the knee, lower her head, and say, "The Abyss Dragon, Leviathan, greets her Master, the Sage Dragon Emperor..."
Without changing his expression, Vahn remarked, "I don't recall accepting you as my subordinate."
Exhaling a sigh, Leviathan lost her facade of respect as she sat back on the ground, legs spread lazily and carelessly as she said, "Then just get on with it. Now that my original self has been destroyed, the only thing sustaining me is whatever you did while inside me. I figured I could get vengeance by serving you, but I'm sure as hell not going to beg."
"Hmmm..."
Tearing his eyes away from the admittedly captivating sight of Levithan, Vahn briefly skimmed his Unit Management, unsurprised to find her name listed among his subordinates. He had complete dominion over the Realm within her, so it was no surprise he also had Authority over her. Quite a bit if her 'Eternal Servitude' Status was any indicator.
"Stand up."
Feeling a wave of compulsion surge through her body, an additional sigh escaped Leviathan's throat as she rose to her feet and remarked, "Don't get carried away..." in a lazy, non-threatening tone. She knew there was nothing she could do even if Vahn ordered her to rip out her own guts or impale herself on a spike. As far as the Central Network was concerned, she was now an extension of him, a sapient Gift in the same vein as Algol before her liberation.
Realizing the woman had been effectively eliminated as a threat, Vahn took a moment to consider his options before asking, "The collapse of your Realm. Were you betrayed?"
Spreading her hands and shrugging dismissively, Leviathan answered, "Not really. If I had to guess, it was a failsafe our Strategist came up with to destroy your Avatara in the event my Hell of Envy failed to incapacitate you. My pride just doesn't allow me to accept being treated as a Pawn, so I couldn't help ripping apart Death the moment you resurrected me."
Hearing Leviathan mention the Hell of Envy, Vahn now understood why all the Spirits condemned within were so eager to impose their suffering unto him.
"Your Community, which did you belong to?"
Giving Vahn a skeptical look, Leviathan stood with one hand on her hip, her thick tail sliding across the ground as she flatly replied, "Aren't you supposed to possess some form of omniscience? Even if you didn't, my name and status as a Pure-Blooded Dragon should be a dead giveaway. You really are new to the Divine Realm, aren't you?"
Punctuating her words with a flip of her long, two-tone black and blue hair, Leviathan made it clear she had no intention of answering without a direct order. She may have lost her Origin, but she was still an extremely prideful woman. In her mind, it was nonsensical for Vahn not to know who she was.
Resisting the urge to order the proud Dragoness to beg like a puppy, Vahn flatly replied, "Judging by how you referred to yourself as an Avatara, your Community must reside in 1-3-Digit Gates. If I had to guess, you're, or at least were, a member of the 666 Beasts."
Clapping her hands together with a completely uninterested expression on her face, Leviathan retorted, "Woooooow, look at you. You can do it if you try..."
"..."
Inhaling a deep breath and exhaling through his nose, Vahn compelled himself to calm down before remarking, "You're playing with fire..."
Snorting through her nose, Leviathan asked, "What are you going to do about it? As far as I'm concerned, you're wasting both of our time. You supposedly have the power to know anything you want to know, so this conversation is entirely pointless. If you're going to kill, torture, fuck, or let me go, just get on with it. I hate being interrogated."
In a presumed effort to entice Vahn towards a specific option, Leviathan gave the thong-like straps of her Dragonskin chaps a pop. She still didn't want to die, so even if she had to reduce herself to little more than a sex slave, she was willing to do whatever it took to survive, obtain power, and seek revenge&mdash;everything except yielding her pride.
Though Leviathan's 'Hell of Envy' hadn't left the best impression on him, Vahn's eyes couldn't help being drawn to her actions. The anatomy of her hips and thighs were different from ordinary women, but considering she had a tail nearly as thick as his abdomen, that wasn't too surprising...
Raising her brows, Leviathan asked, "What's this? The so-called 'Ancestor of all Pure-Blooded Dragons' is hesitating? I am not unwilling, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop you. If you want to fuck me, then fuck me. It's that simple."
Feeling his draconic nature stirring in response to Leviathan's words, Vahn closed his gold-shifted eyes in an effort to suppress his growing desire to push down and 'dominate' the arrogant Dragoness...
"Pathetic...some Dragon God you-"
Unable to finish her words, Leviathan found her face impacting the grassy ground with enough force to embed half her face into the fragrant topsoil. A wave of anger washed over her, but, at the same time, her thinly veiled concupiscence was thoroughly enkindled. She would never admit it, but from the moment she recognized Vahn as her Master, an ever-increasing desire to be conquered by him had been swelling in her heart. She hadn't been goading him without purpose.
With his left hand forcing Leviathan's head into the ground and his right restraining her tail, Vahn's pupils expanded and contracted as he fought to suppress his instincts. Being recognized as the Progenitor of Dragons meant he was constantly being assailed by the 'beliefs' of billions, if not trillions of people. He could always ignore it, but as it was necessary for his plans, Vahn had been allowing it to build ever since his battle against Amaterasu.
Surprising and disappointing Leviathan, Vahn suddenly released her from his grasp. Her wild mane of hair became noticeably spikier as a result of her incomprehensible rage. However, before she could even think about lashing out, Vahn manifested an entire palace and throne out of thin air, saying, "Sit." in a commanding tone.
Unable to resist the compulsion of Vahn's voice, Leviathan's rather large rump impacted the ground with enough force to leave cracks in the stone floor, the tip of her tail twitching in frustration as she glared at him with an expression reminiscent of a wild dog, teeth bared and growling.
Leaning onto the knuckles of his right fist, Vahn turned Leviathan's fury to vexed indignation as he said, &nbsp;"If you're that eager to be conquered, then do it yourself. With the vast disparity in our power, expecting me to do all the work is simply arrogant..."
Though she had never felt such rage and frustration since the moment of her inception, Leviathan slowly rose to her feet and said, "Don't regret it..." in a threatening tone. Then, with the intent of 'turning the tables' on Vahn, she began peeling away her clothes as she approached his throne with a hungry, borderline murderous expression on her face...
...
..
.
Ignoring the pregnant-looking woman passed out next to him, eyes rolled back and butt sticking in the air, Vahn was wondering what he should do about the 666 Beasts. They were one of the most powerful and influential Demonic Communities in the Little Garden. More importantly, they were a counterbalance to the Rank 13 entity known as Truth, the Primeval Divine Spirit serving as the Origin of nearly every Monotheistic Religion.
Though he could always seize and reassign the Origins of the current 666 Beast members, it wouldn't solve the underlying issue. Unless he created evil or malicious entities willing to commit all manner of atrocities, Vahn's takeover of Communities such as the 666 Beasts would invariably disrupt the balance of Creation. He couldn't simply erase evil from existence, so unless he intended to wipe out both the 666 Beasts and Truth itself, there was very little reason to concern himself with their machinations. Unless they were legitimately seeking death, they should avoid him of their own accord in the future.
"I miss when things were simpler..."
Undoubtedly as a result of the time he spent with Sandora, Vahn was no longer looking forward to taking on the Little Garden and climbing his way through the Ranks of the Inner Gates. He just wanted to return 'home' and be with the people he loved...
Exhaling a weary sigh, Vahn pushed Leviathan onto her side before lying down next to her and burying his face in her rather ample bosom. She had an aroma that was anything but comforting, but that didn't prevent Vahn from nestling into the soft yet firm mammaries and simply letting his mind wander...
...
..
.
After reconvening back at the coliseum, Sandora, Izayoi, and Yo stood on the sidelines as Asuka tried to use her Authority-based Gift, Oraculum, to interrogate the trio from Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Sandora had sealed their powers, but due to pre-existing contracts they had made before the Gift Game, prohibiting them from revealing the answer, the interrogation had born little fruit.
Realizing that a direct answer would be impossible to acquire, Asuka had spent the better part of twenty minutes compelling Black Percher, Weser, and Ratten to share their origins. All Demon Lords had specific origins, so she was confident she would be able to sus out the answer once she had learned each of them.
Unsurprisingly, Black Percher was the amalgamation of the more than 80 million people, predominately children, that had succumbed to the Black Plague. The more surprising revelation was that she was one of the very first victims, the daughter of a landed noble from Eastern Europe who got infected because she had secretly been providing food and water to her family's ailing servants.
In response to his daughter's infection, Black Percher's father effectively imprisoned her as a rudimentary form of quarantine before subsequently executing every servant, serf, and animal that had come into contact with her. What he didn't know was that the majority of infections were caused by much smaller creatures: fleas and ticks whose bellies were filled with the contaminated blood of an ever-increasing number of corpses.
Despite his efforts, it wasn't long before Black Percher's father, mother, and the rest of her family contracted the same disease. Shortly after that, her father set fire to the estate, a final effort to prevent the spread of the disease and 'purify' the land of a plague he believed to be imposed upon them by God.
Moments before her death, as her lungs filled with smoke, Black Percher shouted a curse from the confines of her prison cell. She damned each of them to death, tears of rage and resentment streaming down her face as she writhed about in a vain attempt to smother the flames that invariably consumed her body.
Due to the blame that had been assigned to her, the curse Black Percher made in her final moments ended up accruing her a bit of Spiritual Power. Every time a member of her family or someone else who blamed her died, she became a little bit stronger.
After wandering Europe aimlessly for hundreds of years, Black Percher found her way into Asia, countless spirits gathering around her until she eventually found herself at the center of a 'family' comprised of more than 80 million vengeful spirits. Then, as if she had awoken from a bad dream, she spontaneously found herself in the Divine Realm, bound to a ring and given the explanation that her suffering was the result of the Sun being in a cooling period, an event caused by the whimsical nature of beings such as Shiroyasha...
...
..
.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Dragons are a bunch of horn dogs...','The regret and clarity that follows a moment of passion...','Mega oof...')

"What are you going to do with her?"
Since she couldn't imagine Vahn going out of his way to kill someone that looked like a child, Sandora was curious about what Vahn intended to do. What she didn't expect was for him to answer, "You're the one that sealed her powers. Once this Gift Game has come to an end, she, and the rest of her Community, will be your responsibility."
Furrowing her brows, Sandora uttered a conflicted, "Nn..." as she looked at Black Percher.
Even if it were her decision to make, Sandora knew there would be many within her Community petitioning for Black Percher and her subordinates to be brought to justice. The lightest punishment they could expect was a public execution. In the event Salamandra intended to make use of them, they would either spend the rest of their immortal existences as slaves or something much, much worse...
Seeing the glimmer of pity in Sandora's eyes, Black Percher squinted her own, saying, "I don't need someone like you to pity me. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to face a Floor Master. Also, the Gift Game has yet to conclude. If your people cannot reveal the truth, it's only a matter of time before members of your citizenry become agents of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Deciding what you'll do with me after the game is simply arrogant..."
Though her words had lost a fair amount of their bite, Black Percher was still serious about subsuming Salamandra and seeking vengeance against all beings related to the Sun. Her feelings of urgency had waned, but she wasn't going to simply abandon the purpose she had carried with her for nearly seven hundred years.
Exhaling a sigh, Sandora resisted the urge to inform Black Percher that a subset of her Community would willingly torture her and her companions for information. A Royal Family couldn't govern for thousands of years on purely good intentions. She had previously ignored it at the behest of her brother, but Sandora was well aware of Salamandra's dark underbelly.
Turning to meet Vahn's gaze, Sandora asked, "What if my decision was to leave the members of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin to the Aldrnari Empire?"
"Hmmm..."
After 'briefly' considering his response, Vahn answered, "I'm not entirely sure that's the best decision. However, if it's the one you've decided, I'm not going to refuse."
Tilting her head to the side, Sandora asked, "What do you mean...?" with an adorably confused expression on her face.
Before Vahn could explain how certain people would accuse him of either staging the attack or protecting the culprits, Black Percher interjected, a severe and pouty expression on her face as she said, "I refuse! I would rather rot away in prison than become that man's pet...!"
Recalling how Vahn had unabashedly stabbed his hand in her body and caressed her head, Black Percher didn't want to be anywhere near him. Not because his actions had caused her pain or discomfort, but because they made her feel fluffy and giddy. She didn't really know how to put it, but Black Percher was sure she would eventually 'lose herself' if left in the care of Vahn. It had only been a few minutes since their initial encounter, but she already found herself questioning whether or not her vengeance was justified...
Feeling offended on Vahn's behalf, Sandora's expression morphed into a similar pout as she asked, "What's so bad about becoming Vahn's pet? If you did end up in prison, your treatment would be much worse. I'm not in a position to issue blanket pardons, so there is a good chance you would end up being tortured and mistreated just to assuage the people's anger. Is that really the fate you want for you and your friends...?"
Though her complexion paled, Black Percher managed an impish grin as she confidently asserted, "Your threats don't frighten me...even if your Community did want to torture me, neither you nor that man would allow it. Despite his unmatched power and authority, everyone knows the Sage Dragon Emperor is a soft-hearted fool. So long as I promise never to harm any women or children, you'll have no choice but to let me walk free..."
Raising his brows, Vahn inquired, "Women and children? I can understand people associating me with children, but women as a whole? That doesn't sound like me."
Snorting through her nose, Black Percher regained a bit of her confidence as she asserted, "Even if you send someone flying or slice them in half during a Gift Game, it doesn't matter unless you hold them accountable after the fact. Unless they went out of their way to antagonize you after the fact, I doubt you've ever actually killed a woman."
Though quite a few names and faces came to mind, Vahn didn't think it would help his situation if he spontaneously listed off all the people he had killed over the years. Instead, he adopted a deadpan expression as he said, "You're behaving pretty brazen for someone within easy petting distance..."
Before Black Percher could ask him what the heck he was talking about, Vahn cupped the sides of her face, gently massaging her cheeks with his palms as the tips of his fingers kneaded her fringe and scalp.
"Wh-wh-what do you think you're doing!? Get your grubby little hands off of meeeeee-!?"
Feeling a pleasant shiver run through her body, Black Percher summoned power she didn't know she possessed, breaking free from Vahn's clutches before promptly sinking her rather prominent canines into the surprisingly soft flesh of his hand.
Without attempting to pull his hand away, Vahn's expression softened as he said, "There is another option...give up your revenge, and I'll allow you to reincarnate into a world where you'll never have to endure the pain and anguish of disease. I can even send you back home...to a time when your mother was still alive, and your father cherished you..."
Furrowing her brows, Black Percher removed Vahn's hand from her mouth but kept a hold of it as she stated, "I didn't need the Princess's pity; what makes you think I need yours? I don't know what you did to me, but I owe it to the 80 million Spirits that gave me form to pursue my vengeance until the very end. Whether or not I'm able to obtain it doesn't matter. Until the Sun has repented for its crimes, I will never stop trying to make life more difficult for those who enjoy its splendor..."
As if it were the most natural thing to do in the present moment, Black Percher punctuated her words by sinking her teeth into the index and middle finger of Vahn's right hand. His blood was a lot sweeter than she expected, so even though it earned her weird looks from both Vahn and Sandora, she continued to shamelessly suckle his fingers with a 'serious' expression on her face.
Shaking his hand in a casual and ultimately vain attempt to extricate his fingers from Black Percher's maw, Vahn's expression became wry as he asked, "Enjoying yourself...?"
Instead of answering Vahn's question, Black Percher attempted to bite down even harder. When she did, Vahn's fingers spontaneously gained an immaterial quality as he pulled them free, ruffled her hair, and said, "Only people I'm especially close to are allowed to suck my blood."
Clicking her tongue, Black Percher averted her eyes, grumbling, "Only an idiot would want to be close to you..."
"If you say so..."
Retracting his hand from Black Percher's head, Vahn turned to Sandora and asked, "What are you going to do now? I've already neutralized the miasma that has spread throughout the city. We're still trapped, but the danger has largely passed."
Hearing Vahn mention he had neutralized her miasma, Black Percher's face formed into a scowl as she shouted, "Impossible! Even if you have a Gift related to purification, there's no way you could have prevented the spread of the pestilence without a Domain! You must have cheated...!"
Shaking his head, Vahn's expression softened as he explained, "While the rules you came up with were pretty comprehensive, there was something you failed to account for..."
Adopting an intense glower, Black Percher waited for Vahn to continue, her brow twitching when he explained, "The rules prevented the creation of Domains but said nothing about Domains already in effect. Though, to be perfectly honest, that wouldn't have prevented me from stopping the spread of your miasma. My control over all forms of energy far exceeds the common sense of this world..."
To make things easier for Black Percher to understand, Vahn created a mass of purple-black energy in the palm of his hand before promptly purifying and converting it into a ball of pristine white fire. When she saw this, the petite Demoness's carmine eyes briefly glazed over as she softly muttered, "You really are a monster..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn promptly crushed the ball of holy fire in his palm, saying, "Call me what you will. I've rarely concerned myself with the titles others impose upon me. I am who I am, the person I choose to be."
Shifting his attention back to Sandora, Vahn waited for her to answer his previous question. Fortunately, she immediately understood the meaning behind his look, explaining, "I left the evacuation up to my brother and the members of Salamandra. Interrupting it partway through would just cause chaos, so I intend to return to the coliseum to wait for Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo to return."
Though he knew Izayoi had been watching them from the shadows for quite some time, Vahn simply nodded his head in response to Sandora's words. He had already resolved to let her and the No Names handle this particular incident, so, after thoroughly mussing Black Percher's hair, he kissed the petite Dragoness before whispering into her ear that he would be waiting for her back at the Palace...
...
..
.
High in the sky over Kouen City, far beyond the invisible boundary that denoted the city as a Game Board, was a woman with bronzed skin, two-tone black and blue hair, reptilian eyes, and a truly remarkable physique. Her outfit did very little to conceal her form, but the thing most people would take notice of was her inordinately long and thick tail, a meaty, pitch-black appendage set with glowing blue spines.
"Pathetic...how could a 5-Digit Demon Lord be defeated by a brat that still smells of milk? It's no wonder the higher up are so desperate to do away with the Demon God. The power of recently manifested Demon Lords is a complete joke..."
Snorting through her nose, tufts of blue, flame-like energy emerged from the woman's nostrils as similarly blue, circuit-like lines began to spread across her body.
"Well, not that it matters..."
With an intense blue light emanating from her throat, the bronze-skinned woman adopted a smile that caused the sides of her mouth to crack. Two rows of razor-sharp, distinctly crystalline teeth came into view as the blue ridges along her tail began to pulse, minute spatial cracks forming around them due to the phenomenal amount of energy contained within.
"You'll all die, just the same..."
Immediately following the woman's words, massive, three-pronged wings erupted from her back as a complex, halo-like magic circle formed behind her. The energy condensing in her body reached the point that her entire chest had gained a prominent blue hue, highlighting the bones and organs within as she arched back and prepared to unleash a full-powered Dragon Breath.
If nothing appeared to hinder her, the draconic woman would have been able to erase the entirety of Kouen City from the map. The moment she attempted to unleash it, however, a vice-like promptly covered her mouth, suppressing the breath within as a very unamused Vahn asked, "What do you think you're doing...?"
...
..
.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Salamandra has more than a few skeletons in its closet...','Black Percher is just one dragon meat away from falling..."','Not today, b*tch (O w O)...')

Chapter 2285: Death Transcendent