EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 460: Respite

[January 1st DxD/August 24th DBT]

Though his birthday had taken place a few months prior, Vahn spent the day celebrating with his family, harem, and Yoruichi. The latter's birthday was also January 1st, so he attended a feast hosted by the Shihoin Clan in his and her honor, attended by most of the Gotei and two members of the 0th Division—Hikifune and Shutara.

As much as he represented an existential threat to the 0th Division and the world of Bleach, Vahn wasn't on particularly bad terms with any of the illustrious Squad's members. During Hikifune's birthday the previous year, he had gifted her a small, country-sized preserve where she kept a bunch of flora and fauna transplanted from the world of Toriko. For Shutara, she was granted limited access to the Pavilion's research as a Special Liaison and Consultant.

Wisely, both Shinigami beauties admitted they had been tasked with honey-potting Vahn to gain access to privileged information and to the upper floors of his palace. Had they lied about it, they would have been seen through and effectively barred entry. But because they were honest and didn't cause trouble, Vahn had few qualms about periodically seeing them in the communal bath and going to town on them when they were in the mood...

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[January 3rd DxD/August 26th DBT]

With more than a week passing since Blue Roses began staying at the Seven Lotus Spring, Vahn found himself stifling a yawn as Tina and Tia worked together to attack him from all angles in a clearing. Their Levels were 28 and 27, respectively, but they were unable to land so much as a grazing blow against him.

As Tia distracted Vahn from the front, Tina appeared from his shadow and blew into a blowpipe that fired completely silent arrows—fleched with the feathers of an owl. Three impacted Vahn's back, but while Gagaran issued a loud, "Nice...!" the twins didn't lower their guards.

pshaa

Following a loud, disorienting explosion that filled the area with smoke, Vahn appeared behind Tina using Body Flicker and casually chopped at her neck with his right hand. She reacted quickly, twisted her body at a nearly impossible angle, and countered with a kick aimed at his face, but all she hit was empty air.

"Nice reaction," Vahn teased, using a feather to tickle Tina's lower back before leaping backward as she spun on her left heel, kicked at where his face had been, and followed up by flinging a trio of kunai after him.

"Immobility Binding Paralysis...!" Tia shouted from afar, causing Vahn's body to tingle but failing to immobilize him due to his complete immunity to status afflictions. At the same time, he used a kunai of his own to swat away and deflect Tina's.

Following a quick series of hand signs, Tina inhaled deeply enough that her chest appeared to inflate before she expelled a fair amount of flames in the form of a Fireball Jutsu. It was weaker and less visually impressive than the version showcased in Naruto, but it was the reason her kunoichi garb had red accents.

Extending his left hand, Vahn made a grasping gesture that caused Tina's fireball to extinguish. As he did, a pair of snakes formed from water struck his neck and outer right bicep, originating from Tia.

"Elemental attacks aren't effective against me," Vahn stated, the snakes biting into his body freezing before he shaped them into multiple blunted spears of ice and sent them back at Tia with a casual cut of his right index and middle fingers.

"Meteor Hammer...!"

Aiming for a moment when she believed Vahn was distracted, Gagaran fell out of the sky and attempted to crush him with the flattened side of her warpick. He had invited all of Blue Roses to participate in the friendly spar, so she had been eagerly awaiting her opportunity to join.

'Despite her size, she's pretty fast...' Vahn noted, simultaneously pulling back the ice spears he sent at Tia and redirecting them to curve around and slam into Gagaran mid-fall. As she bounded across the ground and attempted to right herself, he then stomped the ground with his left foot, causing the ground beneath her anchored foot to slide forward, resulting in her loss of balance.

Witnessing this from the side, Lakyus, sporting a serious expression and standing with her arms crossed next to Evileye, remarked, "He really does have mastery over the Four Elements..."

"Having doubts about your beliefs...?" Evileye questioned flatly. She had yet to reveal to the other members of Blue Roses that Vahn was a Dragon God, but it remained at the forefront of her mind.

"It's more so that the longer we stay here in the spring, the more I find myself lacking. Lord Vahn's mastery of the sword, spear, and even ninja skills is so...effortless..." Lakyus sighed. She had previously asked to spar with Vahn, and his skill with the sword had left her speechless. When she thereafter learned that his specialty was spearmanship, her ego sustained a heavy blow, to say the least.

"Why not ask him to teach you?" Evileye questioned, noting, "If you recall how he answered when we asked why he decided to construct his spring here in the capital, he mentioned that he was planning to pass on some of his knowledge and skills. I can't think of any reasons why he would refuse you as a student."

"Princess Renner made a similar argument..." Lakyus revealed. "But I've made it this far largely because of my talents and hard work. I feel that if I were to petition Lord Vahn for his tutelage, people would credit all of my future achievements to his teachings..."

Though she was tempted to contend that a lot of Lakyus's growth as an Adventurer was thanks to her legendary sword and the high-ranking gear she had from the beginning, Evileye thoughtfully remained silent. Instead, her carmine eyes carved the image of Vahn's smiling figure as he casually fended off Tina's, Tia's, and Gagaran's teamwork into her mind.

'He really put a lot of effort into his transformation...' Evileye thought, her usually stagnant heart quickening to a dozen beats per minute. Ever since she began dwelling in the Seven Lotus Spring, she had been feeling more and more alive. Just being able to bask in the sun was a luxury she hadn't known for two hundred years, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The food that Vahn prepared had actual flavor, and he was a great listener and conversation partner...

'I should visit his room again tonight...' Evileye thought, her heart rate increasing to a whopping twenty beats per minute. Vahn had been telling her about some of the other worlds he had visited, and while she couldn't help noticing that most of his stories involved his relationships with other women, knowing that there were a functionally infinite number of worlds beyond her own was fascinating...

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With another day drawing to its close, Vahn was wrapping up his end-of-day report to Nazarick when a familiar presence arrived at the entrance of his tent.

"Welcome back~" Vahn hummed, prompting Evileye to enter his tent with a neutral, half-lidded expression.

As a True Vampire, Evileye didn't fatigue or require sleep unless she was seriously injured, so she had been visiting his room every night since their original conversation.

"I wanted to discuss with you the possibility of you accepting Lakyus and the others as your students..." Evileye stated plainly, making her way over to the recessed seating area, where Vahn had preemptively made himself comfortable. As usual, Evileye sat directly across from him. But instead of covering her lap with a pillow, she sat cross-legged with her black panties very slightly on display.

"They do give the impression that, even if they were to be granted power, they wouldn't misuse it," Vahn acknowledged with a nod. "But, what about you? Is there nothing you would like to learn from me?"

"I'm already leagues stronger than those four. Besides, would you really trust a Vampire like me with your knowledge...?" Evileye questioned, her tone flat, but her cheeks gaining a flush so faint that it would have been imperceptible if not for Vahn's enhanced senses.

"You're a former Hero who's spent the past two hundred years searching for a method to restore your Kingdom and its people. Anyone who would vilify you for being a Vampire despite your merits is either a bigoted fool or a fiend themselves..." Vahn responded casually, his expression relaxing into a natural smolder.

"..."

Following a momentary pause, where her thoughts seemed to grind to a halt, Evileye averted her eyes before surprising Vahn by noting, "The day we arrived here...you mentioned to Tina you didn't mind cuddling with her if she and her sister came to visit you..."

"Do you want to cuddle...?" Vahn asked directly, his tone deep and warm with humor. Evileye trembled in response, her carmine eyes widening and her pupils dilating noticeably before she met his gaze out of the corner of her right eye.

"I'm just...curious about something..." Evileye muttered, leaving Vahn with more than a few questions as she got up from where she was seated and positioned herself before him, standing. Then, while looking down at him, she grabbed the hem of her tattered dress and pulled it up, revealing her black, visibly worn silk panties.

"I appreciate the view, but I'm not entirely certain what your intentions are..." Vahn remarked, his gaze lowering as he openly admired the view before him. Evileye lacked the allure of a mature woman, but as she was more than two hundred years old, he tilted his head and took in the view without reservation.

"Do you see me as a woman...?" Evileye questioned, prompting Vahn to raise his head to meet her gaze, her distinctive blood-red eyes focused on him without blinking.

"Mmn...you're a bit lacking in certain departments, but you're definitely a woman..." Vahn affirmed, extrapolating that Evileye likely had a complex regarding her stunted development. Her brows wrinkled at his noting that she was lacking, but only briefly.

Lowering the hem of her dress, Evileye did her best to appear casual as she took a seat to Vahn's left, sighing, "You don't have to say things you don't mean. I stopped caring about how other people viewed me a long time ago. Just pat my head and don't ask or say anything unnecessary..."

Punctuating her words, Evileye lay her head on Vahn's lap with her eyes closed. To her surprise, Vahn didn't hesitate to oblige her request, using the fingers of his left hand to gently pick and brush aside her stray hairs before silently caressing her head and cheek.

'He really is immune...' Evileye noted to herself, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of Vahn's careful and comforting ministrations. The reason she had shown her panties to Vahn was to test if he was able to resist her pheromones. Unlike other high-ranking Vampires, she wasn't able to charm people with her gaze. Instead, she produced pheromones similar to a Succubus, causing males of all races, including monsters, to become increasingly agitated and clingy.

Feeling Vahn's fingers combing through her hair, Evileye couldn't help but recall memories from her lost childhood. She had long forgotten the faces of her mother and father, but she remembered them caring for her deeply. Her mother used to caress her head just like Vahn was doing. Her father, in contrast, didn't have much time to spend with her. But she never hated or resented him for it. Rather, she was proud to be the daughter of a King who worked tirelessly for the sake of their Kingdom—so much so that she had been studying and practicing hard to follow in his footsteps...

"Hmmn...?"

Noticing that Evileye had fallen asleep, a single crystalline tear rolling away from her left eye and around her nose, Vahn briefly considered his options before resolving himself to remain where he was until she awoke. Fortunately for her, he often found himself in such a position with various small animals. Thus, while she might not appreciate being placed into the same category as a small kitten, Vahn continued caressing Evileye's head late into the evening...

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