Reluctance : Resignation

While the flood of information pertaining to Altera's and the Sol System's past was pretty interesting, Vahn earned incredulous looks from nearly everyone as he stated, "Well...unless I am mistaken, this White Titan, Velber: 02, should still be within my authority to control. Unless you're trying to allude to the fact that Archimedes' group has something to do with the Velber Star, it doesn't really matter what happened in the past. We'll deal with any enemy standing in our way, regardless of whether or not they are alien, God, Hero, or human."

Though there were no guarantees that Velber: 02 would obey him, Vahn could be certain that Velber itself would fall under his authority as Type: Omega. As for the White Titan herself, she seemed to be sealed inside of the Moon Cell, so, even if he didn't have authority over her, he had Administrative Authority over the Moon Cell itself. He could also request assistance from Crimson Moon, but, as the group of so-called Heroes were inarguably more dangerous than Altrouge's faction, at least for the time being, it would have to wait until later.

In response to Vahn's confidence, Merlin showed a slightly troubled smile as he advised, "You should remain cautious, Your Majesty. As you are so fond of stating, there are no absolutes. I believe you are well acquainted with how quickly things can spiral out of control when you assume nothing can go wrong..."

Hearing Merlin's advice, Vahn was reminded of the incident where he fled his previous world, and, as could be expected, the most recent events involving Scáthach. This caused him to frown slightly, his eyes passing over everyone else in the room before he ultimately nodded his head and said, "You're right...which is why I'll be going to the Moon Cell alone. I can't go all-out with allies present, so, until I have a better grasp of the situation, I will be resolving it on my own."

Though it wasn't outside their expectations, nearly everyone present had expressions revealing their dissatisfaction and worry. Even Artoria adopted a deep frown, wasting no time in saying, "You can't just do everyone on your own, Vahn! You promised that you would trust us more! Even if we're not as strong as you are, none of us here fear death! I'm not going to let you go alone, not this time...!"

Ever since the incident with Scáthach, everyone within the Inner Sanctum could see how heavily it weighed on Vahn's heart and mind. His most recent awakening only exacerbated the concerns they had been feeling, so, to hear him advocate going off on his own once again, Artoria was unwilling to remain silent. She trained hard every day to be useful to the Empire so she couldn't help but feel a considerable amount of frustration every time she was left behind while Vahn ran off to fight against their enemies.

As it was pretty rare for Artoria to have an outburst, especially with others present, Vahn was at a loss for words. He knew she was right, and, at several points in the past, he had made promises to trust, not just her, but all of them. Instead, he usually only brought the most powerful people in the Empire along with him, often serving as backup forces as he personally dealt with their enemies. This was the 'safest' and 'most efficient' option, and, though he knew it also caused the girls left behind a great deal of frustration, he couldn't help but want to protect them.

Though it didn't actually need to be said, as everyone present knew how he felt, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression as he muttered, "I just don't want to lose any of you..." in a somber tone. Since the loss of Scáthach was still fresh on his mind, it was easy to hear the pain in his voice. Despite this, Artoria balled her hands into fists, her eyes moistening as she shouted, "We don't want to lose you, either! More than physical pain, mental anguish, or even the fear of death, the thing I'm most afraid of is you spontaneously disappearing. I won't allow you to leave me behind...I refuse...!"

Hearing an equivalent amount of pain in Artoria's words, Vahn felt like his heart had been tightly gripped by the golden-haired beauty. This caused him to release an audibly tired sigh, exasperation clear to see in his expression as he smiled wryly and said, "I'm not going anywhere...even if I were, I promise I will take everyone with me. This is a battlefield though...if something happened to any of you, I wouldn't be able to live with the regret..."

Even if his words were out of concern, Artoria's expression hardened when she heard Vahn's words. This caused him to avert his eyes slightly, as, even without anyone saying anything, it was easy to see they didn't take kindly to his words. After all, they hadn't been inscribed on the Throne of Heroes as a result of their cowardice. Even if they had to face insurmountable odds, they wouldn't hesitate if it meant they could fulfill their duty, protecting their honor and dignity in the process...

Realizing he was out of line, even if they were his honest feelings on the matter, Vahn took a deep breath before meeting Artoria's gaze and saying, "I understand. It was wrong of me to try and take care of everything on my own. You aren't flowers that need to be locked away within a garden...nor are you so fragile that you require my constant care and concern. You're all amazing, and, together, there is little we can't accomplish..."

Though his words were lacking in spirit, Vahn tried to be sincere when he was speaking. He actually did trust in everyone that had been gathered under his banner, but, knowing just how strong some enemies were, his first instinct was always to protect. He couldn't help but blame himself whenever something bad happened, so, whenever things became especially dangerous, he would rather deal with it on his own than expose anyone else to danger.

Unfortunately, even the best of intentions became overbearing restraints in the minds of the ones being 'protected'. Vahn knew how hard everyone worked and, if he really thought about it, even he wouldn't have been able to take such a refusal laying down. Even when he was weak, he would do everything he could to help out those that were stronger than him. Thus, even though it was never easy, he, for what felt like the hundredth time, told himself to believe in the people around him...

---

Once things had settled down a bit, everyone began formulating a multi-phase plan that included establishing contact, ascertaining the enemy's intentions, and, if necessary, invading and conquering the Moon Cell. As for the participants, the first phase would include Vahn, Artoria, and Da Vinci. They would try and come to an accord with the 'Hero' group, but, if negotiations broke down, the Imperial Knights would then move in, led by Gawain, Kenshin, and Lancelot.

There was no way of knowing exactly how big the Moon Cell was, so, after establishing a foothold, the Imperial Knights would establish a Forward Operations Base. From there, they would determine exactly how many troops and resources would need to be allocated to the occupation of the Moon Cell, determined by Gawain and verified by Da Vinci. She was the most qualified to understand the situation within the Moon Cell, so, while Gawain secured the area with the Empire's forces, most of the logistical matters would be dealt with by her.

If possible, Vahn would like to avoid an actual invasion, as it contradicted previous statements he had made, but, if the Heroes intended to continue skulking around like snakes, he wouldn't hesitate to squash them.

At this point, it was all but certain that Archimedes had some scheme related to Velber: 02, so, even if the Heroes were willing to compromise, they would still be expelled from the Moon Cell. There was no way Vahn was just going to let the errant inventor do whatever he wanted using technology that was designed to monitor and record things, not cause chaos and destruction.

If negotiations broke down, the capture or elimination of Archimedes was their highest priority. He was the apparent ringleader behind everything so removing him from the equation seemed to be the most effective means of reaching an accord. Though it was possible someone else was pulling the strings, this would be brought to light after they managed to track down the original and expose his plans.

There was still a chance that Archimedes was an actual Hero, but, as a result of his character, it was impossible to leave him to his own devices. People that were willing to use any means to achieve their goals were dangerous, especially when they could order their subordinates to target children. This, combined with the fact he had been able to produce an army of nearly 50,000 automatons in a relatively short period of time, made Archimedes one of the most dangerous elements amongst the group of would-be Heroes.

The problem was, the 'real' Archimedes was undoubtedly protected by their group's most powerful forces. Musashi was likely one of their strongest cards, but, considering who they were dealing with, Vahn wouldn't have believed her if she stated she was their most powerful. She might have the most individual strength, but, when it came to Heroic Spirits, the most powerful often had Reality Marbles that effectively functioned as entire armies.

Vahn could still remember how powerful he felt while using Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon] so, with the Throne of Heroes classifying it as an E~A++ Rank Noble Phantasm, the odds of more powerful abilities existing was high. Both Artoria's [Avalon] and Nobunaga's [Three-Thousand Worlds] were qualified as EX-Rank Noble Phantasms, so, in the grand scheme of things, it seemed impossible that Archimedes didn't have a few equivalent trump cards.

Until they were able to force the enemy to reveal their hand, most of the direct engagements against enemy Heroic Spirits would be handled by Vahn and Artoria. Though exceptions would be made if it was an emergency situation, only Gawain, Lancelot, and Kenshin were authorized to meet the enemy Heroes head-on. Everyone else was required to form teams with at least one A-Rank Heroic Spirit, and, unless it was mandated by the situation, their objective was to secure the Forward Operations Base, not chase after enemies.

Fortunately, Gawain had performed excellently as Commander of the Imperial Knights and, after the summoning of the former Knights of the Round Table, the Empire's forces had qualitatively improved in regards to individual prowess. Nearly every Homunculus had received some form of military-style training at this point, completely of their own volition, so there were now more than seven-thousand active and reserve members of the Imperial Militia. As for those that had gone on to become actual Knights, they numbered 735, each nominated by their respective instructors and knighted by Vahn himself.

The seamless coordination between Einzbern Homunculi made them an awe-inspiring force on the battlefield, so, while Vahn couldn't help but worry about the albino troupe, their results as part of the Imperial Response Force spoke for themselves. Everyone who was given the opportunity to lead one of their teams spoke highly of them, to the point that Gawain had even taken on three Homunculi as his personal Esquires, personally teaching them the skills necessary to rise to the position of Knight Commanders themselves in the future.

This would be the first major military operation conducted by Imperial Forces so, in a way, this was a litmus test to determine whether or not they would be useful in future campaigns. The fact each of the knighted members qualified as D+ or even C-Rank Heroes inspired a bit of confidence, but, the true test would be whether or not they can actually do anything to more powerful Heroic Spirits. If it was Vahn, he would be able to sweep through the Imperial Militia with impunity, so, while he didn't look down on them, he hoped the armaments he and Da Vinci had produced would be enough to sustain them against anything the enemy might throw their way...

(A/N: I'm going to be busy for the next two days so, unless I can free up some time, there will only be one chapter of EPIC and one chapter of Babel per day. Sunday, however, I'm intending to publish an updated release schedule (in calendar format), so, for those of you who like structured releases, that is something to look forward to. The schedule will be posted on both my Patreon and Discord so feel free to stop by and say hi on the server if you haven't done so (^ _ ^)~!)

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