Pursuit : Truth

With most of his business completed, Vahn teleported to the center of Fenrir's gradually expanding castle.

Curiously, perhaps because she was able to sense his presence from the gemstone, Asuna reacted a little slower than usual. It was only after Fenrir raised her body that she seemed to notice his arrival, her face a subtle shade of red as she quickly 'concealed' the rainbow-hued gemstone from view.

Though he found Asuna's behavior rather amusing, Vahn could only smile wryly as he extended his hand, materializing the gemstone in his palm. This caused the twin-tailed princess to puff out her cheeks slightly, but, as he really didn't need the stress of a precocious girl becoming increasingly bold with his gemstone, Vahn pretended not to notice her pouting expression.

After walking over and allowing Fenrir to nuzzle against him for a few moments, Vahn hopped onto her back, ruffling the deadpan Asuna's hair before saying, "It seems our enemies want to draw this out. I guess it's about time we meet with the members of Ala Rubra. Are you ready, Fenrir, Asuna?"

Though she was able to speak in her wolf form, Fenrir's response was a bored yawn. As for Asuna, her fake pout turned more genuine as she asked, "Are they going to be living with us?"

Understanding Asuna's concerns, as she was going through a bit of a 'selfish' phase right now, Vahn smiled wryly in response before gently guiding her to sit in his lap. This was more than enough to pacify her mild frustrations, her ears turning a rosy tinge as she leaned into Vahn's chest and turned her head up, clearly expecting an answer to her previous question.

While smiling back at her, Vahn explained, "Depending on how things develop, they will probably come to stay on the island. Don't worry, I have no intention of revealing the Garden of Avalon to them at this point in time. Even if it turns out the mastermind behind Ala Rubra is involved in some grand scheme, they won't be able to trace our movements if I'm serious."

Knowing Ala Rubra wouldn't be able to enter the Garden of Avalon, Asuna could feel the tensions in her body melting away. She could already imagine Vahn helping Nagi train, and, while that wasn't a bad thing, she didn't want to spend years living in close proximity with the members of Ala Rubra. It was one thing to be allies, but, after reading excerpts about Nagi's various exploits during his youth, she wasn't comfortable with bathing or changing anywhere near him.

Feeling a little angry just thinking about someone trying to 'prank' her, Asuna's expression became somewhat scary as she muttered, "I want to fight against Nagi. I need to overcome my aversion to injuring others and I can't think of a more suitable training partner..."

Sensing the sword intent radiating from Asuna's body, Vahn was struggling to restrain a laugh as he internally remarked, ("I'm starting to feel sorry for that brat...")

In the original timeline, Asuna would have undoubtedly grown fond of Nagi, and, though she might have felt forced by the circumstances, Arika likely loved him dearly. Now, however, both girls held a bit of resentment towards the boy. This was one of the downsides to learning about the future from a historical account. It allowed people to form a bias because all the finer details, such as the actual context and emotions involved, were simply missing.

If he were being honest, Vahn had also formed a bit of a bias towards the legendary party, but, as they were undoubtedly the 'protagonists', he knew there had to be a greater reason for everything that happened. Nagi was probably a good kid, and, though he would undoubtedly be a little dense, he should have a natural charisma that drew people to him. As for his perversion...well, that seemed to be a common trope when it came to protagonists.

Based on how people viewed nakedness in Mundus Magicus, it wasn't difficult to imagine that the world was created as either a romantic comedy or an action novel with a fair amount of fanservice. Even Eva had shown up in what amounted to a BDSM outfit, and, though she had defaulted to less revealing clothing after their reunion, her leather g-string wasn't something that could be forgotten easily. She also had a habit of wearing rather skimpy side-tie panties, and, though it was easy to just blame it on happenstance, even the wind within Mundus Magicus had a high probability of blowing up skirts to reveal the contents hidden beneath...

Remembering his stay in Ariadne, Vahn couldn't help but shake his head slightly, a wry smile on his face as he answered, "I don't mind if you want to fight against him. If he is as strong as rumored, he will be a good rival for you. Just make sure you wear your Aegis properly to prevent any 'accidents' from occurring."

Knowing what Vahn meant by accidents, Asuna's sword intent became even more potent, her eyes sharpening like blades as she said, "If he tries anything...I'll cut it off..."

Feeling goosebumps spread across his body, Vahn found himself unable to reply to Asuna's rather 'dangerous' words. Instead, he just lightly pat her head before turning to Fenrir and saying, "We'll head West to draw out the people who are undoubtedly pursuing us. If anyone powerful shows up, you will probably need to return to your true form. You don't need to force yourself to fight in your transformed state."

Understanding the weaknesses of fighting in a giant form, Fenrir didn't hesitate to nod in response to her Master's words. Then, after storing her [Pristine Jace-Ice Bed], her scarlet eyes began to blaze with an intense light as the palace around her began to vibrate and crackle. From the outside, it was like the entire structure was being illuminated from the interior, and, after reaching an intensity that could rival the side, the entire thing simply 'dispersed' into a veritable tidal wave of icy white light.

Though the glacial palace only covered a few hundred meters, the ice elemental energy released by its dispersal spread out for several kilometers. In its wake, a large part of the bay was frozen down to the mud as a thick layer of frost covered most nearby structures. It was almost like a giant snow globe had been formed in the region, as, due to the presence of the ice elemental energy, any rain that entered the pale white bubble immediately turned to ice and snow...

---

Immediately following Fenrir's departure from the Megalomesembrian entry point, various forces that had been patiently lying in wait stirred to action. Fighting inside of the city was forbidden, for obvious reasons, so, even when Vahn had been making his way towards the Senate Building, they had been unable to act.

Fortunately for the would-be bounty hunters, Megalomesembria had yet to even consider whether or not they were going to retract Vahn's bounty. Thus, without any fear that their efforts would be wasted, various groups decided to pursue the giant wolf that was somehow able to run across the surface of the water as if it was flat ground.

Among the first groups to react, a youth with two-tone red hair and similar red eyes had a massive grin on his face tossed his staff into the air before leaping atop it and shouting, "I'm going ahead! I won't let them get away this time!"

Without waiting for any of his companions to respond, the youth took off toward the horizon at breakneck speed, his body shrouded in a thin white barrier that mitigated air friction completely.

Seeing their young charge take off without even considering a plan, the remaining members of the group had mixed reactions of amusement and concern. The oldest among them, at least going by appearance, was the first to speak out, worry audible in his tone as he said, "Shouldn't we be giving chase as well? Nagi is very powerful, but that monster seems to be in a class of his own...I'm worried he might be getting in over his head this time..."

Hearing their Japanese companion's words, the other two members of the group turned toward the man, smiles visible on their faces as the truly oldest among them answered, "You are correct to be concerned, Eishun. Though Nagi has a propensity for shattering expectations, his current power is far from the Sage Dragon Emperor's."

The moment the man finished his words, Eishun showed an even more fretful expression as he pullted out an inordinately long sword made from white wood and exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for!? Nagi is our student! We can't just leave him to fight against that monster by himself!"

Showing none of the concern visible on their companion's countenance, the younger of the two calmly stated, "Even if we were there, Nagi would ask us to stay out of the fight. We should certainly give chase, but, rather than interfere in the battle, our goal should be to prevent others from doing so. You don't have to worry about Nagi. Even if he emerges from the battle beaten and bruised, I do not believe the Sage Dragon Emperor would kill him."

Annoyed by the words of the childlike individual, Eishun glared back at him, asking, "What makes the two of you so certain that is the case!? How do you know Nagi isn't currently flying towards his death while we stand here twiddling our thumbs!?"

Continuing to show no visible concern in their expressions, the two ancient individuals, Filius Zect and Albireo Imma, looked toward each other with calm smiles on their faces. After the former gave a curt nod, Albireo turned back toward Eishun, explaining, "I would have thought someone of your talent and pedigree would have noticed."

With a visibly annoyed expression on his face, Eishun continued to glare at the duo, his voice dark and heavy as he asked, "What was I supposed to have noticed?"

After chuckling lightly in response to Eishun's reaction, Albireo explained, "That man, the one who calls himself the Sage Dragon Emperor, had already detected our presence. His perception is rather amazing. It reminds me of the domain of a God, albeit with a few peculiarities...I digress. The simple truth of the matter is, even after sensing our presence, he showed no sign of hostility. Rather, based on the impression I got, he seems to be familiar with us?"

Nodding his head in agreement, Filius went on to add, "Indeed. There is a chance that man knows the true reason behind our arrival in Mundus Magicus. That girl accompanying him is actually the Key of Twilight, and, based on his actions thus far, it is fair to assume he comes from the future. He is far too powerful to have remained hidden for this long, and, based on how the elementals react to his presence, it is safe to assume he didn't come here from a different world."

Not expecting Filius to suddenly mention time travel, Eishun couldn't help but look at the 'youth' as if he had lost his mind. Before he could say anything, however, Albireo added, "I have watched over this world since a time before its inception. In that time, there has never been a creature as loved by the Spirits as the Sage Dragon Emperor. The energy radiating from his body is also unlike anything I have ever seen, even during the eras preceding humanity. This energy has even started to affect the entirety of Mundus Magicus, so, if he had existed prior to his emergence in the Hellas Empire, there would have been a considerable amount of evidence."

Though it sounded ridiculous, Eishun found himself unable to refute the words of Filius and Albireo. He knew the former was well over two-thousand years old, and, though Albireo Imma often skirted around the topic of his age, he was 'much older' than Filius. If they were both saying something like the Sage Dragon Emperor had never existed, that was very likely to be the truth. There was also the fact that the Sage Dragon Emperor wasn't discreet, so, if he hadn't come from the future, he would have already taken action long ago...

Not expecting to suddenly face a time-traveling Ancient Dragon, Eishun couldn't help but release a profound sigh before looking back at his two ancient companions and saying, "After this is all over, I'm expecting an explanation. It's about time the two of you told me the actual reason you wanted to bring Nagi to this world. I'm tired of being left in the dark."

As Eishun had already proven himself a capable ally, Filius and Albireo could see the merit in telling him the truth. Thus, after a brief exchange of glances, the duo nodded to each other before turning back to the slightly nervous-looking Japanese man, answering, "Very well then..."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Let me just confiscate that...','Ice Age~!','Never underestimate the intelligence of Old Monsters...')

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