Comfort

With eleven days passing since they had entered the Corridor, Vahn found himself at the entrance of the Tenth Floor's Boss chamber, sitting before it and meditating to alleviate his mental fatigue and focus his mind.

Aiding Vahn in his efforts, allowing him to feel much calmer, Koneko held him from behind, her arms linked over his shoulders as she groomed his hairline with her rough tongue. Rias had deduced he suffered from a form of separation anxiety, so when everyone met up in preparation for moving to the next Floor, groups were reassigned to have Koneko accompany him everywhere he went.

"Okay, I'm good to go..." said Vahn, opening his eyes and waiting for Koneko to release him before rising to his feet. Once he had, he made sure to caress her head and face, the two of them sharing a kiss before making their way into the spacious enclosure occupied by what looked like a giant flower. It had a thick, green stem, five meters across at the base but tapering as it extended nearly seven into a set of giant maroon petals, presently open and facing Vahn and Keneko with a glowing, lime-green crystal serving as the creature's head and eye, circled by five horn-like leaves, dark green in hue with maroon-veins flowing through them. An additional four leaves grew from it like giant leafy tendrils, luminous green with pulsating red veins, and eight thorn-covered vines poised like snakes prepared to strike, their tips reminiscent of spears.

"Koneko," said Vahn, brandishing his Legendary Spear in its Fire Elemental form.

"Nn..." responded Koneko, unhesitantly charging toward the much larger creature, nearly ten meters tall if counted from its base to the tips of its petals. It immediately attempted to skew her with its thorny vines, but since she was in her Nekoshou form, she was able to weave and twist her body nimbly to evade them, slipping straight through its defenses to land a heavy-sounding blow against its trunk-like stem.

Though it wasn't pushed back in the slightest, the monster was clearly angered by Koneko's attack, its leaves and petals bristling before it swept its upper half as if trying to slap her away with its uncoiled petals.

Before the massive plant could complete its counterattack, Vahn's spear impacted the crystal he presumed to be its weak point, producing a fiery explosion that made the creature hiss and release an exceptionally high-pitched cry. The Legendary Spear was sent flying after rebounding off of it, but Vahn was able to recall it to his hand mid-air as he descended upon the monstrous plant, stabbing it in the thinnest section of its stem, behind its crystalline head.

Accompanied by the sound of a slightly muffled explosion, the plant-like Boss shuddered violently, the luminance of its crystal dimming as its vines and petals drooped. It was still alive, but it would need time to recover to a fighting condition, time it wouldn't be allotted.

Leaping up to the monster's crystalline head, Koneko braced her feet against the horns framing it before pulling at the crystal with all her might. Her incredible grip strength caused the crystal to crack where her fingers made contact, and though it took her a few seconds, she was eventually able to pull the head free, causing its form to explode into an incalculable number of green and reddish motes of light.

With the monster abruptly disappearing, Koneko lost her balance and fell backward. She could have very easily righted herself to land on her feet, but since she could sense Vahn below her, she trusted he would catch her and wasn't disappointed.

"Hey, there..." said Vahn, catching Koneko in a bridal carry and supplying his best smile.

"Nyaa~" responded Konkeo, drawing up her knees and curling her hands cutely as she made a pawing gesture with her right.

"Such an adorable little kitten..." remarked Vahn, drawing Koneko into a lengthy kiss. He had technically lost out on his bonus stats due to her being the one to finish the Boss, but since it would respawn after twenty-four hours in-corridor time, he didn't mind. Rather, he felt compelled to reward her...

"Master..." muttered Koneko, the faint ruddiness in her cheeks deepening as Vahn transitioned from her lips to her exposed stomach, supporting her almost inconsequential weight effortlessly as he rubbed his cheek against her smooth belly and probed her navel with his tongue.

Instead of offering resistance, Koneko crossed her arms and drew her knees up as if trying to encompass Vahn's head. In response, Vahn held her back with his left hand and cupped her butt with his right, squeezing the latter and sliding his thumb along the warmth and moisture emanating from her form-fitting leather, lace-trimmed shorts as he spent several minutes licking, kissing, and suckling Koneko's navel, only stopping after she suddenly increased the strength in her arms and legs, trembling from her core.

Though she would occasionally walk around completely naked, Koneko had taken to wearing a two-layer leather top resembling a bra and form-fitting shorts that had roughly the same coverage as a pair of bloomers, both B-Rank items. And, despite how little they appeared to cover, they had great defensive stats, providing a 20% increase to the wearer's Guts and 10% Resistance to both Physical and Magical attacks. They also had a secret function, one that Koneko and Vahn got a lot of use out of...

Understanding what came next, Koneko allowed Vahn to pull her from his face before holding his shoulders with her hands and bracing her feet on his sides. This would hurt an ordinary person, but Vahn didn't even bat an eye at it as he parted Koneko's shorts down the center using a tiny hidden zipper. The shorts were her panties, so what awaited him once the zipper was undone was the tantalizing sight of Koneko's salivating kitten, ready and raring to go.

"Master...Koneko-nyan wants your big thing...hurry..." groaned Koneko, bucking her hips impatiently until Vahn unequipped everything he was wearing, allowing her to seat herself against him with a bit of assistance. Then, for the seventh time that day, they enjoyed each other's company in the most direct way, followed by a hearty meal...

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After finishing their meal and enjoying a lengthy session of just cuddling, Vahn and Koneko made their way into the Ending Zone of the Tenth Floor, which, as usual, resembled an abandoned temple. Unlike previous Floors, however, the stairs leading to the next Floor were formed from a dark blue crystal, signifying the transition to a new Stratum.

"Should we set up camp...?" asked Vahn, prompting Koneko to lick his face before loosening her hold on him, permitting him to set her down from her koala carry. She really enjoyed being held, riding on his back, or sitting on his shoulders, so when they weren't fighting, Vahn carried her everywhere they went while exploring.

With his hands free, not that they were necessary to remove things from his Inventory, Vahn pulled out everything they would need to ensure that those who arrived after them could rest comfortably.

"Might I have the pleasure of assisting you?" questioned a familiar voice, prompting Vahn to look back at where Grayfia had appeared without him or Koneko noticing, seemingly, and almost certainly, out of thin air.

"Sure. Go ahead and set up the rest area and get started on food while Koneko and I set up the bath," responded Vahn, having no issues giving Grayfia orders despite the drastic disparity in their strengths.

"As Vahn-sama wills," responded Grayfia, offering a courteous bow before using what appeared to be Telekinesis to make the supplies move through the air to their intended location. If Vahn had asked her to, she could have the entire encampment set up within one minute without needing to move from her initial position. Instead, she did precisely as Vahn had instructed, as it was not a maid's duty to question their Master's commands.

Though he was briefly mesmerized by the sight of Grayfia's prowess with Telekinesis, Vahn eventually left her to her own devices as he and Koneko made their way to the far corner of the spacious chamber and set up a large, well-insulated tent with ducts that could be opened to release heat and moisture if it got too hot or muggy within. Outside of that, they set up a makeshift slat fence and a handful of portable changing rooms, allowing multiple people to disrobe and use the large bath within, as group bathing was the norm among Devils, particularly among close family, friends, and members of the same Peerage.

"Does Master want to take a bath with Koneko-nyan...?" asked Koneko, seeing a bath as a fitting reward for the hour and a half they had spent setting everything up.

Before Vahn could respond, Grayfia stepped into the tent, smiling as she appended, "I could also use a bath. So long as Vahn-sama doesn't mind the company of an old woman, of course."

"Old woman...?" parrotted Vahn, tilting his head and staring at Grayfia as if she had just revealed she had a secret third boob located on the small of her back.

"Well, I am much older than the girls Vahn-sama is used to seeing naked. It's only natural that you would find my figure...unsightly..." stated Grayfia, punctuating her words by touching her maid outfit with her right hand. As before, it immediately disappeared, leaving Vahn feeling even more taken aback and confused as there wasn't a single thing about her appearance that could be interpreted as unsightly...

"It's a trap..." said Koneko, her expression and tone flat as she grabbed Vahn's sleeve and stated, "She's baiting you into letting her bathe with us..."

"Is that a bad thing...?" asked Vahn, having gotten accustomed to bathing with others. He had even shared a bath with Kiba, Issei, and Saji at Rias's behest, so he didn't see the issue with Grayfia entering with them.

"Nn...Master should only bathe with girls he isn't prepared to sleep with..." claimed Koneko, sporting a slight frown as she stared at Grayfia, smiling back at her.

"Then there are no issues," contended Grayfia, her smile gaining a hint of mischief as she explained, "Because If Vahn-sama felt inclined to invite me, of course I would sleep with him."

"There are a lot of issues," countered Vahn, adopting a frown of his own as he stated, "Grayfia-san is very beautiful, but you are already married and even have a son. It would break my heart if I learned that any of the girls I had come to cherish slept with another man, so I think you should leave..."

"I understand completely," responded Grayfia, her expression softening as she offered Vahn a very steep bow, causing her voluminous breasts to dangle for a moment before she rose and turned to depart, providing him a view of her phenomenal ass as she promptly left the tent.

"I'm sorry about that..." expressed Vahn, placing his hand on Koneko's shoulder and gazing down at her as he added, "And thank you for helping me realize I was about to make a mistake..."

"Nn...Master is very gullible, so Koneko-nyan will protect his lower half from all the opportunistic vixens..." responded Koneko, catching Vahn a little off guard as she abrputly grabbed his not-so-little brother through his trousers, evidently knowing precisely where it was located.

"Is Grayfia a vixen, though...?" asked Vahn, unbothered by the dexterous movement of Koneko's hand as he expressed, "She doesn't feel like a bad person..."

"Nn...I don't think she's a bad person," responded Koneko. "But Master's seed should be given to those he wants to receive it...not those who want to take it from him...nya..."

"You're right..." muttered Vahn, bending his body and bringing his face to meet Koneko's, smolderingly asserting, "Grayfia may be beautiful, but my Koneko-nyan's cuteness won't lose to anyone..."

"Master..." purred Koneko, closing her eyes as Vahn slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her feline tail flicked and twitched behind her as they kissed, and though neither of them noticed at that exact moment, the tip began to fray, gradually splitting to form a fork...

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