Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

At around the same time that Sakura was being stalked by their enemies, Vahn was sitting atop the Leviathan, pale blue light radiating from his pupils. His expression was blank but, based on how his finger was rhythmically tapping against his knee, it was obvious to any observer that he wasn’t calm. Rather, it took more restraint than he knew he had to remain idle while viewing the scene play out through the perspective of Sakura’s Companion, Momo.

Vahn had chief administrative access over the Mother System and, as a sapient entity, it qualified as one of his Subordinates. This allowed him to share senses with the System and, regardless of the fact it was an Artificial Intelligence with very few biological components.

In the grand scheme of things, life wasn’t simply formed of flesh and an amalgamation of complex neural processes that were driven by electrical signals firing in unique sequences. If a person had a sufficient understanding of the Laws, being made purely of elemental forces could be given life. This was one of the reasons why he never looked down on Artificial Humans and Homunculi as, despite the nature of their being, there was never a doubt in his mind that they were living creatures that deserved the same rights as other people...

The only ’people’ that weren’t deserving of this recognition were those that lived by exploiting and victimizing others without any real rhyme or reason. He saw many of the nobles as monsters wearing the guise of humans as, other than themselves and their own interests, they seemed incapable of the most basic form of human decency. It incensed him to no end and, if not for his past promises and a strong desire to never lose himself to hatred and anger, Vahn wouldn’t be able to stop himself from wreaking havoc on the people who set these kinds of events in motion.

Fortunately, Sakura’s training was not without results so, while she was visibly shaken, he was more worried about the ’calm’ that had washed over her towards the very end. She still had sequelae from her time as a vessel of Angra Mainyu’s corruption as, while memories could be altered and erased, the Soul and body could still remember. Her Ego carried the echoes of her past self and, while the odds of her having a relapse were relatively slim, they weren’t negligible.

Realizing this, Vahn closed his eye to focus while, back in the real world, his primary vessel awakened from its meditative state before teleporting back to London. At the same time, he sent a telepathic message to Sherlock Holmes who, mere seconds later, transmitted all of the pertinent information necessary to resolve this issue. This wasn’t something outside of their expectations as Sherlock had already profiled every major and subsidiary family associated with the Clock Tower. This, combined with the data provided by Da Vinci and CHALDEAS, allowed him to instantly understand the greater plot that had been set in motion.

With this information at his disposal, Vahn’s body seated atop the Leviathan teleported to London, this time directly into the Clock Tower. He knew Solon and Zelretch were keeping tabs on him so, in a cold and commanding tone, he called out, "We need to talk. Bring me to you or I will force my way inside."

Moments after his demand, a circular portal appeared in front of him, one which showed an endless expanse of blue sky and marbled structures. Vahn wasted no time in passing through, finding Solon frowning as they asked, "What has you in such a dour mood? Did one of those idiots touch one of your reverse scales...?"

Rather than answer Solon’s question directly, Vahn plainly stated, "I will be causing an incident at the Trambellio family estate. They may have taken several steps to hide their tracks but I don’t play when it comes to protecting my children. I’m only letting you know so their resources are not engulfed by other factions."

Solon’s expression immediately turned dourer than Vahn’s as they brought their palm to their head in a show of exasperation. They had gone to great lengths to get the other two Monarchal families to lay low but, based on this development, it was obvious the two families weren’t as unified as the Barthomeloi family had been. This was the main reason they had been unable to usurp the former Monarchal family’s status as the most prestigious family; they simply had too much infighting and internal competition.

Vahn was, of course, very aware of this fact but, as the Trambellio family flaunted its status while manipulating the Democratic Faction from behind the scenes, it was high time to teach them a lesson. He wasn’t planning to destroy the family but, by the time he was finished with them, they would have to part with a lot of their power and resources. These assets would be absorbed by the Clock Tower, causing the other families to speculate that Solon was trying to centralize power within the Association by using the Empire as a proxy.

Unfortunately for Solon, Vahn was only here to give them the courtesy of a forewarning. By the time the green-haired Magus asked, "When will you strike...?", he was already tearing apart the roof of the largest Manor and destroying its wards. Thus, with the same severe expression that he entered with, Vahn coldly stated, "Three minutes ago..." before disappearing in a flash of pale blue light. This left Solon with a binary complexion that morphed between pale white and red as they shouted, "Old Bastard, return this instant...!"

Though Vahn was actually proud of Sakura for showing mercy to her would-be attackers, he didn’t have much to spare against people that plotted against children. So long as they had darker auras and showed any signs of hostility, the only mercy he would afford them was a quick death. This was the limit of his compassion for these human-shaped monsters who, despite having more power and wealth than almost anyone else in the entire world, they were never satisfied.

Eventually, Vahn reached a large hall that was filled with powerful wards and more than fifty first-rate Magi. They were all standing in a formation and, immediately after his entry, each member formed a hand seal as they shouted in unison, "Ath nGabla, Sacred Dueling Formation...!"

When the group finished their chant, Vahn found himself surrounded in a field formed by [Primordial Runes] while, on the surface of his heart, another rune tried to embed itself. He knew the purpose of this Magecraft and, under normal circumstances, it would force the target and the challenger to face each other in a life and death duel. If he refused or tried to retreat, the rune on his heart would curse him to death but, as could be expected, even [Primordial Runes] weren’t able to affect the interior of his body.

It actually took a concentrated effort on Vahn’s part to keep the rune from immediately vanishing as he was curious to see what these fools had in mind. The formation imposed one-on-one combat so they were either hoping he didn’t know its purpose or someone among them intended to battle him.

As if acting on some divine cue, a middle-aged man with a faded hairline and two peculiar tufts of hair poking from the sides of his head walked into the circle, explaining, "This formation was used to bind the Hero Cu Chulainn in the distant past. Upon activation, you are forced to fight everyone that had triggered the formation in single combat..."

While speaking, the man began to slowly take off his aristocratic-style clothing, revealing an aged and emaciated body that was covered in scars. He seemed calm on the surface while, beneath this facade, Vahn could feel his mana surging as a commendable amount of power began to course along his Magic Circuits. His control showed a great deal of mastery but, knowing the man had left a few details out of his explanation, Vahn smiled slyly as he said, "I’m guessing it restricts me to only being able to fight one person per day...?"

Rather than surprise, the middle-aged man began to laugh in an uninhibited manner before smiling as he said, "We never expected that the Emperor himself would invade our home like this. This was originally intended for that monstrous woman, Scathach, so imagine my surprise when my nephew alerted me to your arrival. You’ll have to forgive me, Your Majesty, but I’d rather not see my family so easily wiped from the fact of this world. I hope you will come to see reason by the time you finish slaughtering myself and my men..."

Hearing the man’s words, Vahn was tempted to snort but, frustratingly, he could tell from the man’s aura that he wasn’t one of the evil members of the family. Rather, with the information provided by Sherlock, Vahn knew this man’s name was Bancroft Lyle Trambelio, the younger brother and Steward of the Trambelio family Patriarch. He was known for his fair treatment of other people so it annoyed him quite a bit that the Trambelio family had sent him out as a sacrifice to buy time for themselves.

Deciding not to play their game, Vahn shattered the rune on his heart while grasping the air with his right hand. This caused the runes forming a circle to fracture like glass as the people who triggered the formation all collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from their mouths and noses. They had received a powerful backlash and, after a month or so of rest, everyone that Vahn hadn’t directly put pressure on would make a full recovery.

With commendable composure, Bancroft just looked around at his subordinates before shaking his head and musing, "I can’t say I’m surprised at this point. Unfortunately, I have a duty to uphold so I’ll have to trouble Your Majesty for a short while..."

The moment Bancroft finished his words, his wirey body suddenly inflated to the point that even an Olympic athlete would have to do a double-take. He no longer seemed like a middle-aged man and, if not for his balding head, his age would be impossible to guess.

Even though he was deeply incensed, Vahn never looked down on people that were deserving of his respect. He knew the man was willing to die to protect his family so, while it would have been easy to just crush him outright, he went on the defensive for a short while. The Trambelio family was actually very famous for their unique [Reinforcement] Magecraft so he was interested to see just how powerful one of their experienced Magi were.

Adopting his Xuanwu stance, even without transforming, Vahn deflected Bancroft’s surprisingly heavy blows as the man vaulted around the battlefield as if he had springs in his feet. He was able to accelerate to supersonic speeds in short bursts and, rather than damage the surroundings with his movements, Vahn was surprised to see him disperse his magical energy into a surface before quickly retracting it to power his next spring. It was a masterful use of magical energy, one which Vahn had never thought of due to the advanced movement techniques he was capable of performing.

Still, there was a massive gulf in their parameters and, while not as monstrous as Sakura, Vahn’s own Od had reached a sizable amount. He was sitting just over 27,000 but, rather than magical energy, his reserves were purely comprised of Source Energy. If converted, it was comparable to 27,000,000 units of magical energy so, while his aura may not be that intimidating at a glance, the truth would horrify all but the Gods and a few unique Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities.

Bancroft could tell that Vahn was restraining himself considerably in their battle but, rather than be offended, he adopted a wry smile before coming to a stop a few meters away. He had a somewhat grandfatherly appearance for a brief moment as he said, "I’ve no doubt you have a good reason for being here. My family is not without its skeletons...this is something I am painfully aware of. Despite this, I would ask you to be lenient with them...a few bad apples may spoil the bunch, but it does not mean the entire orchard is rotten..."

Despite his fury hiding just beneath the surface, Vahn managed a slight smile as he nodded his head and stated, "We are aware of this. Today will serve as a lesson for the Trambelio family and all others who believe themselves untouchable. Our intention is not to cull, only to educate..."

As Vahn spoke, he adopted a low stance with his right hand forward and his left hand retracted, both formed into the shape of claws. At a glance, he would appear to be off-balance but, the moment he crouched down, Bancroft felt as if he was walking down a jungle path, an unseen threat lingering in the shadows. He adopted a stance of his own but, the stronger his desire to fight, the more powerful the suppression he felt on his aching joints...

With no other words necessary between them, Bancroft was the first to act. He converted almost all of his magical energy into raw physical power and, for a brief moment, exceeded even the limits of his prime. A powerful aura shrouded his body and, from his striking hand, a column of destructive energy traveling near the speed of light shot out, carrying with it much of his vitality in the process. At the same time, Vahn’s body seemed to move in slow motion as he performed a low sweeping movement before sliding forward with both of his hands, seemingly forming a ’mouth’ with both hands that simply snapped down on the air in front of him. Immediately after this movement, the massive column of energy ’blinked’ out of existence as a phantom white tiger closed its jaws around both the attack and Bancroft himself...

(A/N: I woke up with chest congestion so I’m publishing this chapter early and going back to sleep. There will still be a few more chapters today but the schedule will be a little janky.)