Emergence
Several hours prior to their arrival at the 40th Floor's train station, known best as the 'Mushroom Farm', Vahn received a rather urgent message from Poro Poe, the Hell Express' interim Conductor. This wasn't anything particularly abnormal, especially considering they were inbound towards the station. The contents of said message, however, were extremely troubling as, even with his current power, Vahn wasn't entirely sure how he would fare against an entire Division of the Jahad Army...
Fortunately, while the enemy had come out in force, they hadn't committed to a specific course of action just yet. The main purpose of their presence seemed to be to obtain information, so, rather than blocking the Hell Express from entering the station, they had simply cordoned off the region in preparation for conducting their investigation. The real issue was that several squadrons of Suspend Ships had been sent to intercept the Express, and, as could be expected, they had been demanding to speak with Pedro.
Though he could have easily pretended to be Pedro, Vahn knew that the Jahad Army had already been made aware of his connection with FUG. He also lacked the Administrative authority required to abide by their boarding requests, so, regardless of how convincing his performance might have been, it served no actual purpose. The Jahad Empire had already made the determination that the Hell Express had been hijacked, so, in the end, any procedures they came up with were simply ploys to secure an advantage.
With few other options, Vahn told Poe to go with the flow and pretend to cooperate with the Jahad Army's requests. So long as they could enter the Mushroom Farm unabated, it would be difficult for the encircling Rankers to take action. Their best course of action would be to stop the express prior to or immediately after its departure. After all, though they were the preeminent forces of the Jahad Empire, they couldn't simply ignore the Laws of the Tower without first reaching a compromise with the Guardians...
---
Since there was a chance he might not be able to recover the Hell Express and place it into his Little Garden before the Empire intervened, Vahn's first course of action was to recover Mordred from the Rice Pot. She had been inside for the better part of three months, so, while there was still a ways to go before she completed the process of 'Revolution', her power had already increased by several-fold. In fact, thanks to the system interface of his Unit Management, Vahn had been able to view her rather substantial growth in real-time...
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[Status]
Name: [Mordred Aldrnari Pendragon], Sobriquet: N/A
Age: 335 Days [Ageless](A/N: Don't forget that they were basically 'reborn' into the current Record.)
Race: True Dragon
Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven: 1-6]
Position(s): Scout, Fisherman
Strength: B-Rank Regular -> E-Rank Ranker
Durability: B-Rank Regular -> D-Rank Ranker
Intellect: D-Rank Regular -> C-Rank Regular
Agility: C-Rank Regular -> A-Rank Regular
Control: C-Rank Regular -> F-Rank Ranker
Shinsu: [Quality: Sword], [Total: 39,600->490,600], [Baang: 1], [Myun:198->2,453], [Soo:198->2,453], [Tension: 100]
Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul)
Karma: 159
Innate(s): [Sage Dragon Emperor's Pampered Princess(Mind): SSS], [Inheritor of the Emperor's Will(Spirit): S->SS], [War Goddess' Wrath(Emission): S], [Chimeric Queen's Blessed Body(Body): C->D]
Skill(s): [Anti-Dragon Constitution: S], [Dragon Transformation: A], [Aura of the Flame Dragon: A], [Dragon's Breath: A], [Domination: B], [Extrasensory Perception: B], [Enhanced Reflexes(Ranker): B], [Swordsman(Ranker): C], [Cutting(Ranker): D], [Wave Controller(Regular): B], [Flow Control(Regular): B], [Shinsu Enhancement(Ranker): D]
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Though she still had a long way to go before she could be considered truly powerful, Mordred was well on her way to reaching the pinnacle of power within the Tower. Unfortunately, while she would be more than a match for the average Ranker, her power was incomparable to a High Ranker's. This put Vahn in a difficult situation, as, the moment she emerged from the Rice Pot, he knew she would be eager to test her power.
Had the situation been slightly different, Vahn wouldn't have had any problems allowing Mordred to participate in the coming battle. Unfortunately, the markings visible on their 'escorts' indicated that the Division waiting for them was none other than the 1st Army Corps, the most powerful force in the Jahad Army. This was a fight even he might not be able to emerge unscathed from, so, while it was difficult for him to say no to his 'pampered princess', Vahn had already steeled himself to do just that.
With this in mind, Vahn had Donar deactivate the spell on the Rice Pot, his expression becoming a mask of sternness as he prepared himself for Mordred's emergence. To his surprise, the only thing that greeted him was silence, so, without asking what the issue was, he immediately leaped to the mouth of the Rice Pot in order to view the interior.
Seeing a 'chibi' version of Mordred sleeping near the very center of the peculiar pressure chamber, a relieved sigh escaped Vahn's lips as he dropped down to pick her up. What he never could have expected was that, immediately after his descent, a rather aggressive lion cub extricated itself from Mordred's embrace, hissing at him with blazing, star-like, eyes.
Noticing the wings on the peculiar lion cub's back, combined with the fact it possessed scales on its forelimbs, it didn't take long for Vahn to intuit its origins. Despite this, an amused smile immediately spread across his face as he raised the cub by the scruff, ignoring its struggles and attempts to bite his hand. This caused Mordred to stir awake, a loud yawn originating from her throat as she raised her arms, stretching as she asked, "What the hell are you whining about now...?"
Shifting her attention towards the direction of the noise, Mordred's body froze, eyes widening as she noticed her Chichiue smiling down at her. For a brief moment, she was tempted to rub her eyes and pinch herself, but, thanks to her enhanced senses, she could tell he was the real deal from his scent alone. This caused her to promptly pounce up, shouting, "Papa~!" without considering the mental damage Vahn would suffer from such an exclamation...
---
After helping to replenish her reserves, Vahn retired to an area in the outer rings to spend some quality time with Mordred before asking about her experiences in the Rice Pot and explaining the situation outside. Fortunately, this tertiary conversation took place with her sitting naked on his lap, so, while she was eager to join him in the battle, it didn't take too much effort for him to 'convince' her to remain in the Little Garden. He just needed to promise her that he would 'compensate' her for the three months she had spent in the Rice Pot. After that, well...dragons will be dragons...
---
With his preparations largely finished, Vahn spent the final few hours of his journey meditating near one of the Hell Express' many exits. He was actually looking forward to the coming fight quite a bit, so, before he did something 'foolish', he wanted to get in the proper state of mind. After all, Adori was the current Rank 7. This placed her at a higher rank than some of the Family Leaders, so, while it was nearly impossible for her to defeat them due to their contracts with the Guardians, it wasn't an exaggeration to say she was one of the strongest beings in the entire Tower.
If he held nothing back, Vahn was certain he would be able to defeat, not just Adori, but the entire 1st Division with relative ease. More accurately, he could actually wipe them out without having to face them directly, as, much like when he fought against the Olympians and Velbar, exploding his own body was always an option. This, however, always left a bad taste in his mouth, so, rather than resort to 'extreme' measures from the start, he wanted to see how far his understanding of the Laws could take him against a foe whose power also defied conventional reasoning.
Exhaling a stagnant breath he had been holding for more than three hours, Vahn opened his eyes just as the door before him began to open. Then, without any hesitation, he stepped out into the surprisingly colorful Floor, his mind wandering to memories of the time Xysteria's power had gotten out of hand as his eyes shifted to the multitude of Regulars grouped on the platform below...
Recognizing Vahn as the person they were sent to investigate, the five groups, each representing different Sponsored Teams, immediately became tense. This was especially true for the group at the very back of the formation, as, for a brief moment, Vahn's expression darkened to the extreme as he muttered, "How the hell is this clown on the 40th Floor...?"
Though he didn't understand why Vahn was glowering at him, a lanky green-skinned man that was almost indistinguishable from Parakewl, the only exception being several scars on his face, adopted a haughty expression as he shouted, "Y-You trash! Traitorous swing! Get down here this instant and obediently surrender to the mighty Pinnacle! Don't make this harder than it needs to be...!"
Hearing the man's familiar voice, Vahn's expression became even darker as he turned to the Law of Identity and telepathically communicated, "Never transform into this guy..." before she could reveal the man's innermost thoughts. Then, with a far more relaxed expression on his face, he directed his attention to a massive flagship looming in the distance, its dimensions large enough to encapsulate an entire city with room to spare.
Despite the distance of several kilometers, Vahn could easily see the figure of a truly breathtaking woman with golden hair and matching eyes standing on the bow of the manta-like ship. It wasn't without reason that she was considered the most beautiful among the Princesses of Jahad, and, had he not met even more beautiful women, Vahn might have been smitten by Adori's god-like beauty at first sight. Instead, he just offered her a relaxed smile and a casual wave, actions that earned him a slight frown from the woman with a sobriquet matching the most powerful Shinheuh in the entire Tower, the 'Killer Whale'...
Annoyed by the fact that he was being ignored, the Parakewl-like Pinnacle began to stamp his foot in an expression of frustration before pointing his skeletal green finger toward Vahn and shouting, "What are you pieces of garbage waiting for!? Capture this man and string him up so that we can present him to the Princess!"
Reacting to Pinnacle's words, the majority of Regulars belonging to other teams looked toward him with expressions of scorn. This caused the man to visibly shrink, his unhealthy complexion turning a shade more sickly as he muttered, "W-What the hell are you guys looking at? Don't tell me...are you planning to betray the Jahad Empire and side with the enemy...!?"
Unable to ignore Pinnacle's words, a muscular figure who resembled a bipedal wolf unsheathed an inordinately long katana, saying, "Shut your slanderous mouth. The next time you try and insinuate something like that, I'll shave your tongue into a thousand different slices."
Covering his mouth with both hands, Pinnacle took several steps back, cowering behind the other members of his team as the three-meter tall wolfman continued to stare him down. Then, with a very similar expression, he shifted his attention towards Vahn, his voice gruff and challenging as he asked, "Well? What are you waiting for? Your only options are to surrender or fight. Stop dawdling."
Moving his eyes away from the wolfman's fluffy ears, the corners of Vahn's smile became ever-so-slightly more prominent as he mused, "I never anticipated I would meet a Lycanthian Swordsman as a Sponsored Regular. Things must be rather dire for the people of Lycanthia for you to sell yourself to your sworn enemy..."
Frowning deeply in response to Vahn's words, the muscular wolfman unsheathed his second sword before replying in a dark tone, "I am doing what I must in order to ensure the survival of my people. You have no right to pass judgment on anyone. Now, if you aren't going to come down...I'll just-"
Before the wolfman could begin his charge up the long flight of stairs, Vahn's figure appeared right in front of him. This caused the pupils of his golden eyes to shrink, his instincts compelling him to leap backward since it was difficult for him to attack someone so close to his body. Unfortunately, the moment he tried, it was like both of his legs had turned to jelly, forcing him to collapse to the ground as he, just then, became aware of the fist-shaped indentation in his abdominal muscles...
Resisting the urge to pet the wolfman's head, Vahn matched gazes with several of the Regulars encircling him, smiling as he remarked, "Don't worry. I can't promise you won't suffer a few minor scrapes and bruises, but I can at least guarantee your lives. Now...come at me..."
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Resistance is futile...!','Mordred is so spoiled (OwO)...','Barely escaped with his dignity...')
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