"Haaaa...haaaa...haha...hahahaha..."
Just as Vahn was considering what he should say to Yugo and the others, the explosion that emanated from Nox at its center cleared away to reveal the bandaged man alive. His left arm was missing; a crack ran through the lens covering his left eye; and the bandages that covered him had slacked to become frayed tendrils that blew in the wind, but he was unmistakably still alive.
"Did you...did you see that, Dragon God?" asked Nox, the lens of his right eye flickering as he spread his right and non-existent arm, shouting, "This is the unbreakable will of a man who has waged war on fate itself! It may take me another two hundred years, but I will see my labor through to its end! I must...!"
Without waiting for a response, Nox's body flickered and disappeared in a flash of green-blue Wakfu. The massive explosion had briefly expelled the effects of Vahn's Domain from the encompassed area, so while it had cost him an arm and his armor, he took advantage of the opportunity to retreat.
'He's not exaggerating...not just anyone could self-destruct to repel an attack and create an opening. His resolve is the real deal...' acknowledged Vahn, his presently golden eyes narrowing. At nearly the same moment, a sizeable dragon with black hide, ebon-black horns that protruded from its joints, and a beige-brown belly flew overhead at breakneck speeds with a smaller, white and blue-bellied dragon trailing after it.
"You can put us down, you know..." muttered Eva, her cheeks flushed as, while she didn't mind being held by Vahn, being carried under his arm like a sack of potatoes was embarrassing.
"I don't mind if you continue holding me, but I would prefer to be carried like a proper Princess," chimed Amalia, sporting a similar blush but making no attempt to free herself. Her butt and off-white panties were nearly fully exposed due to the length of her leafy skirt, but rather than feeling even a little embarrassed, she felt excited.
"How's this...?" asked Vahn, lifting Amalia and Eva using his Domain before separating into two to hold them both like Princesses. Amalia immediately brightened up and adopted a toothy, gratified grin as she playfully kicked her legs. Eva, meanwhile, just held his gaze, her green eyes gazing at him intensely and sparsely freckled cheeks burning...
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With Nox having beat a hasty retreat, the two Dragons—Grougaloragran and Adamai—and a slightly more mature version of Yugo had no problem taking down his immobile clock mech and the remnant of his abandoned army. Grougaloragran and Adamai took care of the former, while Yugo, a head taller and appearing to be in his mid to late teens, swept through the enemies on the ground with a sword and shield made from Wakfu.
"Heeeey! Leave some for me...!" shouted Percedal, appearing tanner but otherwise the same as when he had left. One notable difference was that, despite running at a fairly normal pace to reach the battlefield, he became a veritable motion blur the moment he entered combat, his attacks slicing through the bodies of the fleeing Grambos and reducing them to shadowy detritus.
Arriving at the scene with Amalia in his arms and Eva following closely to his right, Vahn silently observed the conflict with a thoughtful expression. Adamai and Yugo, in particular, had grown significantly stronger, but they were still far from the level of S-Rank. He expected them to have become much stronger during their training, but even Grougaloragran was around the pinnacle of B-Rank despite being millennia old.
'Am I missing something...?' Vahn wondered, raising his gaze skyward as if the waning twilight held the answers he was searching for. Even now, The Path scaled the setting to S-Rank. This suggested that there were beings capable of casually destroying planets and shaping reality around, but the greatest threat he had sensed thus far was Ogrest, who hadn't taken any meaningful action for more than a thousand years. And even when he had been active, his rampage hadn't destroyed the planet. It caused a variety of natural disasters, sure, but the energy and power required to achieve that was a drop in the bucket compared to what was needed to destroy a planet...
(Should I do a detailed scan for beings with the necessary energy for planetary destruction?) asked Sis, her tone matching Vahn's curiosity. In consideration of his desire to remain in the dark, she had actively avoided processing information about the setting that was unrelated to what they had experienced. If he permitted it, she could know everything there was to know about it within a few minutes.
'Not now. We've been relatively low-key thus far. Let's not go out of our way to step on anyone's toes...' answered Vahn, returning his gaze to the scene before him just as Yugo noticed his, Amalia's, and Eva's presence.
"Vahn! Amalia! Eva! It's so good to see you all again...!" exclaimed Yugo, portalling over with wide eyes and a clearly happy smile.
While setting Amalia down, Vahn reciprocated with a smile of his own and asked, "How was your time in the Training Room? I've noticed that you've become much stronger, but how are you feeling?"
"How am I feeling? I'm great...!" answered Yugo, his expression sincere, devoid of deception as he beamed and recounted, "Grougaloragran had a ton of stories and wisdom to pass down, and there was always something new to see and explore. It could get a little lonely at times, sure, but I had my brother and Dally to keep me company. The three of us even became blood brothers!"
"Then it sounds to me like you had an overall positive experience," noted Vahn, nodding approvingly.
"You also became a lot more handsome," appended Amalia, flashing her teeth playfully as she teased, "Though you still have a long way to go to catch up to Vahn and your even older appearance. I guess Eliatropes age much slower than other races, huh?"
Nodding, his cheeks tinting red, Yugo confirmed, "According to Grougle, Eliatropes age more slowly as time passes. He doesn't know exactly how long we can live, but since we're born alongside Dragons who can live for tens of thousands of years before dying and being reborn, he believes we have similar lifespans."
"Oh, wow..." muttered Amalia, her eyes widening before she looked to Vahn and asked, "What about you, Vahn? Since you're a God, I assume you can live forever, right?"
"In a sense," answered Vahn, clarifying, "To be more accurate, I'm able to live as long as I choose to live. I'm also able to extend the lives of those around me to the same extent, so you and Eva never have to worry about growing older unless you choose to."
"The benefits of being betrothed to a God~" hummed Amalia, looking very pleased with the revelation. She had no interest in living forever, but never having to worry about growing old was a notion she could be behind.
"Oh, wow...it's Eva and Amalia...long time no see..." muttered Adamai, swooping down from the sky and transforming into a humanoid form that, to Vahn's surprise, reminded him of Frieza from Dragon Ball but with long, slightly angular, blue-tipped horns. It didn't help that the look on his face as he marveled at Eva and Amalia was the kind of expression reserved for someone who was starving, eyeing a piece of juicy meat.
"It's good to see you again, Adamai..." said Vahn, his expression friendly but his tone and the aura he was releasing gaining a hint of sharpness, as, while he perfectly understood the desire to appreciate beauty, there were proper ways to go about it. Eyeing a woman up and down and practically salivating as if you were about to devour them whole was crossing quite a few lines.
Feeling Vahn's will penetrate his body, Adamai tensed, his eyes widening to their limits as an icy chill permeated his body and crept across his skin like a suffocating tide. He had thought that he and Yugo had reduced the distance between themselves and Vahn, but as he met the latter's smiling gaze, Adamai's instincts were telling him that he was walking on a razor's edge between life and death.
Surprising everyone present, even Vahn himself, Adamai abruptly took a knee and bowed his head low, expressing, "Dragon God...forgive me for not noticing and acknowledging you sooner..."
"Hmph! It's good that you remembered your place. If you had kept staring at me and Eva like that, I was about to teach you a lesson!" stated Amalia, posing with her chest puffed and her arms crossed.
Though he frowned in response to Amalia's words, Adamai didn't offer a retort and instead kept his head bowed.
"What are you doing, Adamai? Vahn might be a God, but you don't need to behave like this..." expressed Yugo, sporting a cramped smile as he gazed up at the much taller Vahn for confirmation.
"He's right, Adamai. Though we technically have only known each other for a day, we're ultimately allies. It's important that we regard our allies with due respect, but it need not be to this extent..." expressed Vahn, his expression and tone relaxed, almost cordial. To Adamai's ears, however, each word he uttered was more piercing than the last.
'Note to self...do not covet a Dragon God's treasures...' thought Adamai, forcing himself to rise to his feet and present a cramped smile that was closer to a grimace.
"Thank you for your consideration...I will take the Dragon God's words to heart..." affirmed Adamai, his words coming out strained as he fought the almost instinctual urge to turn, transform, and fly away. Fortunately, that was around the time Grougaloragran finished destroying and scouring the remains of Nox's clock, where he failed to find the Eliacube. With him and Percedal joining the group, Vahn took the liberty of transporting everyone back to the beach for a feast, replacing the momentary awkwardness with a festive atmosphere and discussions of the future...
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As things were gradually cooling down in the World of Twelve, they were heating up considerably back in Vahn's palace. He and Rossweisse didn't spend all that much time together, so when he surprised her at work with an invitation to celebrate her birthday together, the white-haired Walkure was more than a little flustered.
"I want to thank you for today..." expressed Rossweisse, her fair cheeks tinted crimson and her blue-green eyes glossy as she walked alongside Vahn along a long, cobblestone-paved avenue of cherry blossom trees in perpetual bloom. In place of her usual lab coat or dark purple pant-suit, she was wearing a pale blue and white kimono that, alongside her knee-length white hair and faintly glistening eyes, gave her the impression of a Goddess incarnate.
"Your appreciation is more than enough," responded Vahn, his tone casual but warm as he continued leading Rossweisse along, allowing her to hold onto his left arm. In truth, he felt like he had been somewhat neglectful of the remarkably beautiful Walkure, but as she was the type to completely immerse herself in her research to the point of sleep deprivation, he never wanted to disturb her.
"You're misunderstanding...I'm not thanking you..." muttered Rossweisse, pausing mid-step, prompting Vahn to do the same. Then, as their gazes met, she stared up at him with intense, passion-filled eyes and reiterated, "I want to thank you..." with extra emphasis.
"Ah..." uttered Vahn, understanding exactly what the flush-faced woman meant. It had been months since the last time they had sex, and years for him. Thus, when Rossweisse later confided to him that her immersion in her research was her attempt to distract herself from her urges, he reassured her it wouldn't be an issue from that day forward...
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(A/N: I'm current doing a poll on my patreon. If you want to see more chapters of this story or any of my other stories for the month of December, feel free to head over and cast your vote. The link is available in the comments.)