Thanks to handy-dandy ti shenanigans, very little ti had passed by the ti Vahn erged with Jin in tow. In fact, the others had yet to even sit down when he teleported them just outside the dining room, saying, "It's okay to make mistakes. You'll regret it a lot more if you never even try."
With a resolute expression on his face, Jin looked like he was about to say sothing when Vahn gave him a gentle yet firm smack on the back. As a result, he was sent stumbling into the dining room as Vahn erged behind him with a massive grin spread across his face.
After quickly recovering his balance, Jin sent a pouty look in Vahn's direction before ultimately shaking his head and approaching Lily. The latter appeared a little confused by his actions, but, as usual, she had the sa considerate smile on her face.
"Lily...can we talk sowhere private...?"
Though there was a hint of helplessness contained within, Lily's smile beca even more radiant than usual as she answered, "Of course, Jin." Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the duo departed the dining room for one of the many empty rooms within the Sage Dragon's Hearth.
Waiting until the duo had disappeared completely, a smile developed across Izayoi's face as he said, "Let's hope he doesn't ss this one up. That last "confession" of his dealt collateral damage to my soul."
Shrugging his shoulders in mock helplessness, Vahn replied, "I did everything I could. Fortunately, Lily is too kind to outright reject him. She'll most likely give him a chance. Whether or not they stay together is up to him."
Since he didn't want to spend too much ti talking about Jin's love life, Vahn punctuated his words with a casual wave of his hand. This caused various food items to populate the table as he sat down and stated, "I'm more interested in what the three of you were up to during your stay in the Ga Board. Even without relying on my Gifts, I can tell you've grown quite a bit...so more than others..."
Though Vahn's final words were intended for Izayoi, it was Yo who reacted with a rather potent blush. This caused the gazes of everyone present to shift to her as she cupped her fiery cheeks and explained, "I don't know what happened. I tried dieting, but, no matter how much I starved myself, it was like everything I ate went straight to my thighs..."
"..."
Taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, Vahn found himself at a loss for words as Izayoi burst out laughing. This earned him a glare from Asuka, but, before she could say anything to rein the young hero in, Yo exacerbated the situation by asking, "Vahn, you do tailoring work, right?"
Blinking back to awareness, Vahn's gaze shifted to the golden bracelet on Yo's wrist as he answered, "Indeed. However, I believe your [REquip] system renders such services obsolete. There is also the matter of your Companion. They should be able to transform into virtually any outfit you can think of."
Though she nodded her head to show she understood, Yo left Asuka massaging her temples as she explained, "I am well aware of that. It's just that, even with the [REquip] system, my pants and shorts always feel tight around the inseam. It wasn't an issue when I still had my Aegis but they ended up dissolving away when I encountered a Black Sli. Speaking of which...you really could have warned us about those, you know?"
As it had literally been hundreds of years since he last encountered a sli, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he resisted the temptation to say he had simply forgotten. After all, he was the one who created the Ga Board, and, as a byproduct, every single monster within. In other words, he was the one who had bestowed the Black Sli with the ability to lt clothing and armants.
"Sorry about that. Truth be told, I never expected anyone venturing into the Ga Board to get that far. Those with the ability to descend that deep generally wouldn't be inhibited by such an effect so I never thought to remove it..."
Though she didn't snort and cross her arms like she used to, Asuka responded to Vahn's apology with a pointed look as she retorted, "Oh, really? Are you sure you didn't just want to see us naked? Why else would such a monster exist?"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn adopted a deadpan expression as he flatly replied, "Every monster within the Dungeon is sothing I encountered during my own journey. Also, has your ti in the Ga Board dulled your mory? So long as you're within range of my perception, I can sense the very molecules that comprise your body. You could layer yourself in thousands upon thousands of layers of clothing and it wouldn't make a difference. From my perspective, you may as well be walking around in your birthday suit."
Blushing furiously in response to Vahn's words, Asuka looked like she was a hairpin trigger away from exploding. As for Yo, she simply averted her eyes with a bashful smile on her face. She had already been blushing even before his comnt. Now, the crimson glow was gradually spreading to her ears, but, unlike Asuka, she didn't seem particularly bothered by revelation. Instead, she just picked up a simring leg of lamb before using her inordinately large canines to tear away a rather sizeable chunk of the perfectly braised at...
Amused by Yo's reaction, Vahn's smile promptly returned. This seed to be the proverbial straw the broke the cal's back, as, from Asuka's perspective, Yo was soone she needed to protect.
Slamming the table as she bounced to her feet, Asuka's expression turned fierce as she exclaid, "That's it! I challenge you to a Gift Ga...!"
Raising his brows, Vahn's smile turned wry as he asked, "Have you lost your mind? It would seem I was a little too hopeful when I thought you would mature during your stay in the Ga Board..."
Gritting her teeth, Asuka attempted to remove one of her white gloves until Vahn released a bit of his aura and said, "Don't do sothing you'll regret...I have been tolerant of your behavior thus far. Do not mistake my clency for weakness and timidity. If you continue down this path, there is no turning back. I will have no choice but to teach you a lesson..."
Recalling the previous tis Vahn had embarrassed her, Asuka's body beca rigid and tense. She tried to tell herself not to be afraid, but, seeing the solemn look on Vahn's face as his eyes pierced straight through her, she would be a fool not to feel even a hint of trepidation.
"Sounds fun. Count in."
After sitting in silence for several minutes, Izayoi decided to toss Asuka a taphorical life preserver by chiming in. Sure, she could be pretty annoying at tis but Asuka was still his friend. He wasn't just going to let her face off against Vahn on her own, so, with the intention of easing tensions and having a bit of fun, he began popping his knuckles with a cheeky smile on his face.
Feeling the tensions drain from her body, a faint smile developed across Asuka's face as she sent the blond-haired hero a sidelong glance. She felt a lot more confident having his support, so, while the serious expression on Vahn's face was no less intimidating, she managed to adopt a challenging smile as she said, "I may have spoken out of turn earlier. For that, I apologize. However, since I have already issued a challenge, it would be cowardly of to retract my statent. I'm also interested in learning just how far I am from the top. I didn't spend the last six years training just to back down in the face of a challenge."
Though he maintained the serious look on his face, most of Vahn's anger had already disappeared. Asuka was far too weak to truly rile him up, so, even if she did remove her glove and challenge him to a duel, he would have just allowed her to tire herself out before giving her a spanking.
"Very well, then. I accept your challenge. I've been aning to teach you a lesson and this is a good opportunity to see how far you've grown."
Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn sent a telepathic ssage to Will that resulted in their surroundings spontaneously disappearing. This caused the smile to fade from Yo's face, but, before she could pout, he tossed her a peculiar fruit called a at Apple before explaining, "Now that you have accumulated experience in a fantasy setting, I imagine you'll be a lot more active in the Divine Realm. Before that, there are a couple of things you'll need to be made aware of..."
Raising his hand, Vahn waited for the tensions to increase before snapping his fingers to produce a literal big bang. Were it not for the nigh-indestructible shields he had erected around their bodies, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo would have imdiately been reduced to dust as an explosion far beyond the comprehension of mortals spread through the surrounding void.
"First of all...so long as their actions do not adversely affect their surroundings, conflicts between Communities need not revolve around Gift Gas. In other words, if you had truly antagonized , I could kill, imprison, torture, or even erase you from existence without so much as a warning from the Central Network. Keep that in mind if you ever visit the territory of an unaffiliated organization or alliance..."
With the surrounding space rapidly stabilizing under his influence, Vahn manipulated a trendous volu of space dust and debris to form a barren and lifeless planet. Then, with a wave of his hand, a planet-wide barrier manifested high above its surface before a tempestuous wind spread from his body. Soon after that, a breathable atmosphere had manifested as he dismissed the glowing green barriers protecting the trio's body, explaining, "Secondly...this is no illusion. What you see around you is an authentic universe. Were it not for those barriers separating you from the Standard Axis of Ti, you would have witnessed its formation and the billions of years it took to reach this stage of developnt. In other words, were it not for the barriers I provided, your bodies would have aged to the point of being cosmic dust in less ti than it took to blink..."
Spreading his arms, Vahn's clothes began to dissolve away as ivory white and resplendent golden scales began to manifest across his body. At the sa ti, a dharmic wheel appeared behind his body as six sets of wings unfurled from his back. Most of this was simple theatrics, but, as a literal God of Creation, they were as functional as he intended them to be.
"Lastly...as powerful as you have beco, you are ultimately inconsequential when compared to the beings at the absolute pinnacle of creation. All it would take to defeat you at this point is to simply fly away. At your current level, there is absolutely nothing you could do. As for , I could wave my hand and erase every star from the sky. I could grasp this very planet in my palm and crush it into dust while the three of you watch on in horror. That is the kind of power I possess, and, should you continue down this path, it is the power your enemies will invariably possess..."
With a muscular figure, arms in powerful draconic claws, twelve angelic wings, and a long, whip-like tail, Vahn truly resembled a God. His aura was so powerful and majestic that even Izayoi was forced to bend a knee while Asuka and Yo could barely even raise their heads from the pillowy cushions he had thoughtfully laid out for them...
"Now...since you foolishly decided to challenge ...show what you've got. You have five hours to either destroy this planet or force to move. After that...it's my turn..."
Punctuating his words, Vahn raised his hand towards the sky. This caused a fiery red magic circle to cover the sky. In reality, the spell circle was actually tens of thousands of kiloters away. It was just so large that it seed to encompass the heavens. As for its purpose? That was a bit of a surprise...
...
..
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Yo is prid and ready to save lives...!','Young Mistress Asuka...!','Vahn, this isn't even my final form, Mason...')
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