EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 446: Looming

’Is this really all the people they’ve prepared to overpower a Kingdom-spanning syndicate? It feels...inadequate...’ Vahn thought, arriving at the rendezvous point of the raid squads—a secluded supply depot belonging to Marquis Raeven. There, amidst torchlight and seven war tents, roughly two hundred people had been gathered, the vast majority of whom were ordinary guardsmen.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"His companion is even more beautiful than the rumors claim..."

"He’s definitely no ordinary man..."

"But is he really a Dragon?"

As Vahn and Lupusregina made their way down the winding, brick-lined path that parted the temporary encampment in two, they naturally drew the gazes of everyone nearby. Rumors regarding his audience with King Ramposa had already made the rounds throughout the capital, and while not everyone believed what was circulating, the fact that he was a Dragon in human guise had spread like wildfire.

"Great Healer, Vahn Mason...or should I address you as Dragon Lord...?" asked a fairly tall and notably muscular man with messy blue hair, sharp brown eyes, and chin stubble. His attire was well-worn but crafted from high-quality materials, and affixed to his left hip was what appeared to be a katana with a white sheathe and a longer-than-average, brown-banded tsuka.

"And you are...?" Vahn asked, sensing a fair amount of power from the man—at least compared to others present.

"Looks like my reputation isn’t as widespread as I thought. The name’s Brain Unglaus..." revealed the man, extending a rough, callused hand to Vahn. This simple action caused the surrounding Adventurers and guards to fall completely silent, a nervous tension filling the air as they couldn’t believe someone could be so brazen as to approach a Dragon and offer a handshake.

"I’ll be certain to remember it..." Vahn affirmed, surprising those watching by readily accepting Brain’s handshake.

vrrrrrr

As Brain’s actions made it clear he was being tested, Vahn saturated his muscles with Touki as he accepted the man’s handshake. It was faint, but those nearest to them could feel a vibration through the air and ground as he carefully regulated his strength to counteract Brain’s vice-like grip.

"You conceal your power well..." Brain remarked, maintaining a slightly cramped smile despite a bead of sweat trickling down the right side of his face. He had been able to tell at a glance that Lupusregina was powerful, but Vahn was a different story. There was a strange air about him, but he didn’t give the impression that he was dangerous in the slightest.

"I’m simply not concerned with impressing people..." Vahn countered, releasing his hold on Brain’s hand before directing his attention to the group approaching them. This included Gazef in his full plate, notably wearing Megingjord, the members of Blue Rose, including three golden-haired women he had yet to be introduced to, and Climb, his previously bluish-white Mithril armor now dyed matte black.

"Lord Vahn, Lady Lupusregina. It is supremely reassuring to have you at our back..." Gazef expressed, following Brain’s example by extending his right hand to Vahn for a handshake.

"This guy is the Dragon that everyone’s been talking about? He looks like he might break under a strong breeze," remarked a tall, notably well-built woman with sharp blue eyes and golden-blonde hair that extended to her shoulders. Spiky, dark crimson armor covered nearly her entire body, and in her right hand was a large gold and obsidian warpick that looked as if it weighed at least a hundred kilograms.

"Do I really...?" Vahn questioned, meeting the woman’s gaze with a calm, visibly amused smile.

"I take it back...I’m not convinced that he’s a Dragon, but this guy is no hack..." the woman conceded. She barely sensed any power from Vahn, but his eyes were those of a man who invited challenge—someone who wasn’t remotely concerned with the possibility that they could lose.

"Please excuse her rudeness, Lord Vahn. This is Gagaran, the Warrior of Blue Roses. And these two behind me are the Twin Ninjas, Tina and Tia..." Lakyus introduced with a weary sigh.

"He’s tall..."

"And handsome to boot..."

Passing his gaze over the twin sisters, Vahn was unsurprised to see that, like every other member of Blue Roses, they had golden-blonde hair—tied back into matching, brush-like ponytails. Their eyes were sharp, with pale red irises, and their Kunoichi-esque outfits were notably scant and, aside from one with red accents and the other with blue, completely identical to one another.

"The two of you are rather striking yourselves..." Vahn retorted, offering the twins a slow, appreciative nod. Their expressions didn’t so much as fluctuate in response to his flattery, but they seemed to approve as they responded, "He’s got good eyes/And a glib tongue..." in quick succession.

’They seem fun...’ Vahn thought, turning his attention to Gazef as the man apprised him of their plan of attack. They had split their forces into seven groups, each tasked with tackling a separate base belonging to The Eight Fingers. Each group would have at least one Adamantite-class Adventurer or its equivalent leading it. But as The Eight Fingers were known to have at least six Adamantite-adjacent individuals, it wasn’t going to be an easy battle by any means.

"That said, I would like to know what Lord Vahn plans to do. I understand that this is a matter our Kingdom needs to resolve itself, but we would be eternally grateful for any counsel or assistance you’re willing to provide..." Gazef expressed, concluding his explanation.

"As you say, this is an internal matter that the Kingdom ought to resolve itself..." Vahn affirmed impassively, causing the air to thicken with tension before he smiled and stated, "But I also believe your cause to be just and that those here represent a brighter future for the Kingdom. I will not fight your battles for you, but I will always support those willing to fight and lay down their lives for a cause greater than themselves."

Punctuating his statement, Vahn materialized a grimoire with an ivory-white, ornately gold-embellished surface in his left hand. As it flew open, its pages rapidly turning, a magic circle of radiant golden light appeared on the ground—its diameter an almost unheard of twenty meters.

"Veil of the Heavenly Host—Saint Michael’s Shield..." Vahn incanted, his voice reaching the minds of everyone present as a psychic pulse. At the same time, the bodies of everyone but Evileye and Lupusregina became veiled in a thin but radiant aura of golden Holy Power.

Sparing anyone the need to ask, Vahn explained, "I have blessed those here with a mantle of divine protection. They will only last for two hours, but so long as they remain in effect, any non-fatal wounds sustained will heal themselves instantly. In the event the blessed are killed, the energy will seep into their bodies and attempt to resurrect them."

"This is more than I could have hoped for..." Gazef muttered, inspecting himself before casting his gaze upon the book in Vahn’s hand. He wasn’t a particularly religious man, but he felt an overwhelming sense of awe when he gazed upon it—alongside a growing urge to kneel and bow his head.

"It’s not that big a deal..." Vahn refuted, snapping the book, presented to him by Gabriel on behalf of Michael, shut with a soft pap. If compared to other items in OL-2138, it was beyond World-class. But to him, it was just a very fancy Bible—its power stemming from the fact that Michael himself had penned it.

"Not that big a deal, he says..." Lupusregina sighed, cupping her forehead with her right hand. It wasn’t her place to tell Vahn how he should use the items he kept in his Inventory, but it stressed her out to see him use them to help people who weren’t even his subordinates.

"A-Alright, everyone! We’ll be setting out a bit earlier than planned, but let us move quickly and make the best use of Lord Vahn’s blessing...!" Lakyus shouted, recovering from her brief stupor and giving the order to mobilize immediately. She doubted that Vahn could employ such a potent blessing more than once a day—possibly even longer. So, with less than two hours before it expired, they couldn’t afford to sit around.

As the temporary encampment abruptly erupted with activity, Vahn was left alone with Lupusregina and, somewhat expectedly, Evileye. She was effectively a raid unit all on her own, so she had no one to rally or deploy with, allowing her to stay behind and presumably question or explain why she hadn’t received Michael’s blessing.

"That blessing...I assume it only works on humans...?" Evileye asked, her voice low and infused with magic, preventing what she was saying from being overheard by others.

"That’s mostly correct. It also works on Angels, Spirits, and other beings of a Holy or Divine nature..." Vahn explained, having no reason to conceal or obfuscate the truth.

"..."

Realizing from Vahn’s display of power that his nonchalance was less arrogance than surety in his means and abilities, Evileye was beginning to regret challenging him to a duel. She wasn’t going to retract her challenge or apologize, but she resolved to be more mindful of her words and to do her best to avoid offending him further.

"I should be going..." Evileye stated, turning away and using the Third-Tier Magic Spell, Fly, to take to the sky. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

’So she has a cute side to her as well. Noted...’ Vahn mused, a faint smile adorning his face before he turned and led Lupusregina away. He wasn’t going to run around providing aid to individual raid groups. Instead, after leaving the encampment, he made his way to the city’s central square to sit and polish his Legendary Spear on the ledge of the Elizebethan-esque clock tower—watching, waiting, and silently reflecting upon the decisions that had led him to that particular moment...

...

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"Lord Vahn. I have just received word that Entoma is engaging the warrior from the Blue Roses Party. I am concerned that your blessing might place her in a difficult position if backup arrives..." Lupusregina revealed, sporting a conflicted pout and posing with her arms crossed to Vahn’s right.

"Is there something preventing her from fleeing...?" Vahn asked, rising to his feet and glancing in the direction of a luxurious manor belonging to an Eight Fingers executive. He had placed Flying Thunder God Seals on most of the Pleiades, so he could sense that Entoma was in the area.

"None of us would ever flee in the middle of following orders. And were it not for the blessing you gave them, those humans wouldn’t be a threat to her at all..." Lupusregina answered, her tone increasingly low and grumpy. Vahn found this rather cute, but since they were talking about one of her sisters possibly being killed, he opted not to tease her.

"Then, let’s try this..." Vahn muttered to himself, returning his spear to his Inventory before extending his right hand, palm facing downward. As he did, a rapidly swirling ring of bluish-white light formed beneath his hand before expanding outward as a large bubble. Anyone familiar with or from the world of One Piece would immediately recognize this as the Operating Room of the Operation-Operation Fruit.

Though expanding Room beyond a certain size drained the user’s life force, Vahn’s functionally limitless vitality and stamina meant his could be expanded to cover an entire world if he kept fueling it. Fortunately, Entoma was only around two kilometers away, allowing him to eventually snap his fingers and transport her, wielding insects that functioned as a sword and a vibrating buckler, before him.

"Lord Vahn? How did—"

Before Entoma could fall under the effects of gravity, Vahn reached out and pulled her toward him using telepathy, his expression relaxed and his tone patient as he hummed, "Your sister was worried about you. Ease her mind for me, would you?"

chittering sounds

With Vahn suspending her before him and caressing her head, Entoma couldn’t resist clicking the mandibles hidden beneath her uncanny, doll-like mask. She was a little disappointed that she hadn’t been able to kill and eat the woman who had attacked her, but since meeting Vahn meant she would almost assuredly get to take a bite out of him, she decided not to hold too strong a grudge...

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