With the time dilation of the Projection, Vahn was able to enjoy his time in the Menagerie with barely an hour passing in the real world. There, he continued gently stroking the sleeping Semiramis who, after falling asleep, curled up in his arms. He found this vulnerable version of herself adorable but, as all goods things were want to do, it didn't last for very long.
Vahn had been picking long strands of raven-black hair from Semiramis' face when what could only be described as a ripple passed through the entirety of the Hanging Gardens. At the same time, the defensive measures of the floating fortress overloaded in an instant before blinking out of existence as the luminescent crystals lighting the interior suddenly dimmed.
As could be expected, Semiramis awoke instantly after sensing the danger, her gold eyes turning a subtle shade of silver for a brief moment as she sat up and said, "Someone has intruded…they are very powerful…"
Even without Semiramis explaining the situation, Vahn was well aware of what had happened as his domain extended to encompass the entire fortress with ease. He could even pinpoint the location of the interlopers and, sensing a familiar aura, he lightly pat the worried Semiramis' back, kissing the side of her head before saying, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. I can tell you're still a little tired so go rest in your bedchamber, okay?"
Hearing Vahn's casual tone, Semiramis turned to look at him, her cat-like eyes reflecting a curious light as she tried to ascertain whether or not he was telling the truth. In response to this, Vahn just lightly touched his forehead to hers, saying in a calm tone, "They aren't enemies. Even if something happens, I'll move things away from the Hanging Gardens. Now, go get some rest…"
To punctuate his statement, Vahn snuck a kiss from Semiramis' lips, earning a pouting frown from the beautiful woman. Despite this, she still obeyed his words, though not before she used the pale-golden nail piercing through her hand to lightly prick his chest.
Vahn followed Semiramis' retreat with his eyes until she had disappeared behind the concealed door at the back of the chamber. Only when her figure disappeared completely did he bother to rise from the throne himself, his aura flowing out like water released from a sluice gate as he teleported to the location where Zelretch and a woman, presumably Arcueid, was located…
Immediately after reaching his destination point, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had stepped into a new world. Though he was obviously still within the Hanging Gardens, it felt like he had entered into a projection of sorts, one where reality itself seemed 'off' somehow.
As if to encapsulate this idea, Vahn found a woman with blood-red eyes, long golden hair, and facial features that could only be described as ethereal in their beauty. Her height was around 167cm and, even at a glance, he could tell she had a mature figure with an estimated bust, waist, hip ratio of 88, 55, and 85cm. This was emphasized by her choice of clothing, a pristine white dress that showed off her ample cleavage and completely exposed her back. It had a pleated blue skirt underneath layered white folds, each adorned with golden trim, giving her a distinctly 'noble' appearance. She even had long white garments covering her arms, flared at the top with silver bands holding them in place…
While Vahn was evaluating her appearance, Arcueid was doing much the same, albeit for completely different reasons. She had seen the state of the outside world and, having felt the pain and suffering of so many people, she wanted to know what kind of man could have perpetuated such a thing. Her initial assumption was that he would be a tyrannical individual with clearly evil features, complete with beady eyes and a malicious aura. Instead, she found a kindly yet confident-looking young man with crystal clear eyes and an exceptionally gentle aura…
Feeling confused, Arcueid couldn't help but tentatively ask, "Are you…the Sage Emperor…?" in an uncertain tone. She simply couldn't reconcile the person standing in front of her with the type of person that would have thrown the world into its current state.
Hearing the question directed toward him, Vahn offered a casual smile before bowing politely in response and saying, "You must be the White Princess, Arcueid Brunestud. To answer your question, I am indeed the one known as the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
With Vahn making his identity known, Arcueid felt even more confused but, without any hesitation at all, she extended her hand, shaping the very fabric of reality around them, cutting it off from the rest of the world. From Vahn's perspective, it felt like he had stepped into a sub-texture of the world, one that made his prior 'feelings' a reality. In this place, Arcueid was like an indomitable God and, if not for his energy being almost entirely internal in origin, even he wouldn't be able to do much against her.
Without having to be asked, Arcueid took it upon herself to explain her intentions, stating, "Zelretch told me you had the power to liberate me from my curse. Come, I will test you directly. Show me the power of someone that came from Outside…"
The moment she finished her words, Arcueid dropped her hand and, with it, the area immediately around Vahn turned into a vacuous void. He could feel his blood boil as large chunks of his flesh, almost as if they were being devoured by an invisible entity, disappeared entirely. This happened in less than a microsecond and, while Vahn could have evaded, part of him was curious about Arcueid's power. She was obviously a Tier 5 entity so, while victory would be nigh-impossible, this was one of the few opportunities he would have to fight seriously…
Ultimately, Arcueid's initial attack annihilated Vahn's body until nothing but his ankles remained. This wasn't even remotely enough to actually put him down, however, so his body reformed, not where he had been standing, but behind Arcueid's body. Given the fact she had complete control over the space within her Marble Reality, this came as a surprise to the blood-eyed woman as she didn't even sense the tell-tale ripples of space being warped.
Rather than explain his trickery, Vahn had a serious expression on his face and, before Arcueid could react, he pulled out two of his [Lævateinn Proto]s, slicing her body into four pieces with a cross slash.
In truth, Arcueid hadn't even bothered to defend herself against Vahn's attack as she didn't feel any real threat from it. While it was able to rend her body and sear her flesh, wounds of this extent were completely negligible to a True Ancestor. Even as the blades cleaved through her body, the wound had closed behind it without any time interval between severance and reattachment.
By the time Vahn had completed his strike, Arcueid had turned her body around and, her hands moving with hypersonic speed as they formed fierce claws. These easily tore through Vahn's B-Rank defenses, exploding his head into mincemeat. Unfortunately for Arcueid, Vahn had developed a style of combat that made use of his ability to freely change form so, rather than spatter through the air, the minuscule bits of his body congealed together, reforming at a monstrous rate as he pressed the attack.
Having battled against multiple Dead Apostle Ancestors in her time, Arcueid wasn't even surprised by Vahn's capabilities. Rather, it made her assume he was also an entity similar to a True Ancestor as the ability to reform one's body from its constituent molecules was one of their inherent traits. Thus, without any change in her expression, she attempted to sweep her claws across his chest, this time imbuing an immense amount of mana into her sharpened nails…
While his regeneration could be compared to a True Ancestor's, the truth of the matter was that Vahn's ability greatly eclipsed the former. As a result, Arcueid's claws easily ripped through his body but, instead of blood and core, hyperdense black matter dulled her strike. She wasn't even able to complete her full attack as, by the time she reached the center of Vahn's body, Arcueid found her hand immobilized. Then, before she could pull away, the area seemed to simultaneously harden as the black matter began to encroach up her arm.
At this point, Arcueid realize that Vahn's physique was unique but, as this idea cemented itself in her mind, so too did the latter's fist. Vahn had struck forward with enough momentum that a black trail was left in the wake of his movement, an area that represented an absolute void. Then, rather than pull back his hand for a second strike, he made his fist explode with metallic black tendrils, piercing through Arcueid's reforming head to dull her sense and debilitate her.
It was at this moment that Vahn learned that Arcueid's body, while not as unique as his own, had a few tricky elements. In much the same way as he could manipulate his body, her blood seemed to gain sapience while simultaneously becoming the most corrosive substance he had ever seen. His hand, despite being made of a special compound of Adamantine, was instantaneously consumed by her blood. It even managed to extend to his forearm before his body naturally repelled it, causing the first genuine change in Arcueid's expression since the start of their battle.
Arcueid was so surprised, in fact, that she broke away from the peculiar exchange to ask, "What are you, exactly? Even if you are from the Outside, you must have a race."
Though he was just beginning to get excited for the battle, Vahn didn't immediately pursue Arcueid's retreat. Thus, when he heard her question, he smiled back at her, answering, "I am, at my very core, a human being. At the same time, however, I am everything else. Be it True Ancestor, True Dragon, or even inert stone, there are no limits to what I can become…"
To emphasize his statement, Vahn became an almost exact copy of Arcueid, albeit with his own style of clothes and significantly less power. Despite this, she was able to ascertain the truth contained in his words as, from the moment Vahn transformed, control over her Reality Marble nearly slipped to him. This was something completely incomprehensible so, without further question, she vanished like a phantom, her colossal strength destroying what seemed to be her own body…
After being stuck, once again, Vahn realized that Arcueid's base speed was definitely higher than his own. Even her raw strength seemed to outright eclipse his, something that was difficult to fathom considering he reached the 50A threshold after completing Scáthach's trial.
From what he could tell, Arcueid was using a Skill similar to [Mana Burst] but, instead of manifesting externally, it was all contained within her body. This, combined with her functionally infinite mana, made her maximum damage reach a lesser version of infinity, making it nearly impossible to directly contend against. It was actually a little annoying but, considering he was able to experience a few of the more pertinent Laws at play, Vahn couldn't really complain.
Still, being rag-dolled by someone other than Scáthach bothered him more than a little bit so, rather than reform his main body, Vahn used his trick from earlier. Since his form was linked to his Soul, not a physical vessel, he could move his intent away from the location of his decimated body. So long as even the most minuscule amount of Source Energy was present in that location, he could use it as the seedling to reform his body. This was a way to achieve an effect similar to teleportation without having to use Space Laws at all. Rather, as it was based on his usage of Source Energy, his enemies couldn't even hope to sense it.
As could be expected, Arcueid was once again caught off by the incomprehensible ability as, until the reformation of his body, Vahn's aura seemed to come from his previous location. This allowed him to, quite literally, blindside an opponent as many times as he wanted. Arcueid was no exception to this so, despite her efforts to react to the sudden attack, her only reward was a golf-ball sized ball of Light-Elemental energy in the form of Vahn's patented [Elemental Star]…
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Tsundere are cutest when they are asleep~','Difference of perspective','Time to put Shishou's training to the test…!')
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