Chapter 122 - Unwilling to Back Down
Hearing Loki's question, Vahn felt something inside him grow cold as his [Will of the Emperor] acted without his prompting. The way Loki talked about value made him feel like the only way she looked at people was from the perspective of their usefulness. He was reminded of the people that had tormented him in his previous life, and he felt a sickening feeling as he looked at the small goddess in front of him.
The moment his domain spread out, everyone entered a state of high alert but, seeing Vahn unmoving, they didn't take any action yet. Even Tiona and Ais at his sides felt a threatening feeling come from Vahn who was presently glaring at Loki with a look of 'contempt' and undisguised anger. Loki, who was the one experiencing the full brunt of Vahn's 'pressure', grits her teeth and opened her slitted eyes as she returned his glare. Unable to reset the repressive force any longer, she had to activate her Divinity to resist the pressure.
Seeing her activate her Divinity, Vahn couldn't help but sneer at seeing her actions. "You have to use your Divinity to resist a mortal who hasn't done anything? And you dare ask what I have to offer; what I can provide?" Vahn looked coldly at Loki as he enunciated each syllable of his next few words, "I will become strong enough to protect them, no matter what it takes. My question is, what can YOU offer?"
Loki had converged her Divinity and the entire room was shaking but, even though others seemed to be affected, Vahn, who was arguably the weakest in the room, sat in front of her without any signs of being pressured. The most baffling thing was, even when she activated her aura, she was unable to prevent the 'dangerous' feeling that seemed to be coming from the domain generated from Vahn.
When Vahn made his statement and then questioned her, the domain he was emitting seemed to be slowly repressing her Divinity. Loki couldn't believe what was happening, and various thoughts began racing through her mind. For Vahn to be able to repress a god's Divinity, there had to be something unique about his origins. She began to understand why Hephaestus did so much to protect Vahn over the last few months; she was likely aware of his origins or had gained some insight using her 'god's eye'.
Suddenly, Loki smiled while withdrawing her Divinity. She looked toward Vahn and started laughing as she said, "Great! I like you, you are very manly! Hahahaha, I almost want to keep you for myself; what say you join my Familia and I'll let you do whatever you want~?" Loki had to have someone unique like Vahn in her Familia. She could see that he had a potential that dwarfed others, and couldn't stand the thought of him being in something like a 'production' Familia.
Vahn continued to focus his [Will of the Emperor] without answering, and Loki began to sweat while pretending to be unaffected. The entire time she had been trying to 'convince' him, Vahn noticed that her aura hadn't changed in the slightest, it just fluctuated wildly like a possessed demon. He had no doubt she would accept him into the Familia, but it made him sick imagining himself as one of her pawns.
The atmosphere began to get progressively worse, and Loki was nearing her limits and almost ordered her Familia to capture Vahn. If he was unwilling to compromise after she withdrew her Divinity, she didn't think he was capable of being reasoned with. Fortunately, it didn't have to come to that as Ais grabbed Vahn's hand and got his attention. The moment he looked away from Loki, it felt like a mountain had been removed from her shoulders and she released a heavy sigh.
When Ais grabbed Vahn's hand, he looked toward her and saw sadness and concern in her eyes. She squeezed his hand and said, "Don't, Vahn. That is enough." Hearing her words, his immediately dispersed his domain, but he still couldn't forgive Loki. He patted Ais's hand before turning his vision back toward the scheming goddess.
Seeing Vahn turn back to her, Loki felt a chill down her spine as she asked, "What's wrong, kid? Was my offer not good enough?" With a smile on her face, she tried playing off the situation to lighten the mood. Vahn squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows even further, "I refuse to become a pawn of someone else. I will walk my own path, no matter what difficulties I have to face. Though I may not have the best grasp of my own emotions, I know that Tiona and Ais both desire to be with me right now, and I refuse to let either of them down."
Loki seemed surprised by the conviction in Vahn's voice, and even she felt like he could keep his promise. She looked around and saw the members of her own Familia even seemed to respect the boy, especially the two 'enamored' looking girls at his sides. Even Ais, who rarely had any expressions, seemed to be happy after his words finished. Thinking she had run into a wall, Loki tried thinking of how she could benefit from the current situation.
The room remained silent for nearly a minute before Loki spoke up with a 'cheerful' voice and a smile on her face. "Fine, but if you want me to agree, you'll have agree to a request of mine. Tiona seems to believe you are some kind of hero, so you won't just take without giving anything, would you?" Vahn frowned, but he didn't shy away as he said, "If it's a request that I can do, and doesn't compromise my integrity or the safety of those I care about, I don't care what your request is. I'll do anything to protect the ones I care about."
The smile on Loki's face nearly doubled in size as she said, "Oh, it's nothing too serious. It's just, I want you to accompany my Familia when they perform expeditions into the lower floors. You'll even be able to be with your precious Tiona and Ais, so it should fall in line with your desire to protect them, isn't that right~?" Even if Loki couldn't get Vahn to join her Familia, it didn't mean she couldn't use him. It was common for members of the Hephaestus Familia to act as a support unit, and she could just get Vahn to be the representative. Even Hephaestus wouldn't be able to say anything if she played her cards right.
Vahn considered the words for a few moments before nodding and saying, "Even if I had to travel to the bottom floor of the dungeon, as long as I could protect the people I cared about, I would do so without hesitation." Vahn could feel his heart beating powerfully in his chest, and he felt proud to be able to make the claim. It was the truth, and he genuinely believed he could confront anything if it meant removing the burden from his loved ones.
Loki started clapping after hearing Vahn's declaration as she shouted out, "Bravo! Bravo! Well said, a true hero~! But, are you willing to make a vow to guarantee your support?" Loki wasn't the type to take 'personal' promises seriously when there was a way to bind people to their words. Keeping true to his words about not hesitating, Vahn nodded and said, "As long as the vow includes traveling alongside Tiona and Ais, and not simply accompanying any random expedition you might stage."
Loki's brows raised when she saw how cautious Vahn was. She suspected he was the type to act based on emotions and didn't expect him to be able to maintain his rationality if she praised him. From her perspective, Vahn seemed to possess a greater insight than she had previously considered. Of course, she didn't know Vahn could see 'affection' and wasn't fooled by her act. The only reason he agreed was to protect Tiona and Ais.
Speaking of the two girls, Tiona was currently cuddling Vahn like he was some kind of precious treasure. She had a slighted heated expression on her face, and even Vahn had begun to sweat as she pressed her body against him. Ais, to his left, had never released his hand, and after his words, she held it slightly tighter and had a small smile on her lips.
After they had come to an agreement, Vahn made his vow in front of all the ace members of the Loki Familia. When the ceremony was concluded, Loki showed a 'grieving' expression as she looked at Tiona and Ais and said, "It's a shame that I have to let two beautiful girls get soiled by such an inexperienced boy~! If he isn't able to satisfy you, my door is always open at night!" As she spoke, she even tried to take 'advantage' fo the situation and grabbed towards Ais's butt.
Ais, accustomed to her 'advances' immediately swatted away the hand and moved closer toward Vahn. Loki seemed to be very upset by her actions as she held her hand with tears in her eyes, "Boo-hoo, my Ais has been stolen away by a strange boy from another Familia." As she was 'crying' Loki faltered and seemed to stumble in the direction of Lefiya, who had been watching the events with an incredulous expression on her face. There were tears in her eyes as she saw Ais standing next to Vahn, but the tears began flowing after what happened next. Loki, who had 'stumbled' had reached behind Lefiya and reached around to begin fondling her b.r.e.a.s.ts.
Loki shouted, "Oooooh~! At least I still have my darling Lefiya~! And it looks like you are growing?" Feeling Loki fondling her b.r.e.a.s.ts yet again, Lefiay shouted out with tears in her eyes, "Loki-sama, you idiooooooot~!" Managing to free herself from the mischievous goddess, Lefiya ran out of the room like she was trying to escape. Loki held out her hands as though she had just lost something precious as she too shouted, "Nooo, Lefiya~! Don't you leave me too!" She then ran towards the door, but slowed down slightly as she passed by Vahn and whispered, "If you hurt them, it won't be just me that you have to deal with."
As she ran out the door, Vahn followed her retreat with his eyes. He noticed that at the moment she passed by him, her chaotic aura briefly diminished. If Vahn's intuition was correct, that was one of the only 'real' things Loki had said since their meeting. Though he didn't like her, he swore in his mind that he would never willingly hurt Tiona, Ais, or any of the women he chose to be with.
After Loki left, everyone made casual, albeit awkward conversation, and Riveria even 'congratulated' the two girls. Tiona laughed in a carefree manner while Ais bowed her head slightly to accept the congratulations. Tione, who had been present for the entire event, seemed to have suffered a major setback as she begrudgingly congratulated her younger twin. At this point in time, there wasn't a large difference between their figures, as Tione's b.r.e.a.s.ts had yet to reach the point they had in the original story. The fact that Vahn would be able to 'experience' a body that was nearly identical to her own made her feel a strange frustration in her heart.
She grabbed Vahn's collar and shouted, "Don't get any ideas, okay!? My body is being saved for the Captain!" Tione felt like she had to say the words because she felt like, the moment he had s.e.x with Tiona, it was almost like he had s.e.x with her as well. It was a very frustrating feeling and one of the reasons she had wanted to experience the act before her little sister. At least that way she could keep her pride as the elder sister.
Though Vahn didn't know why she seemed angry, he just nodded his head and said,"Yes, I won't try to do anything to you." The moment he spoke the words, Tione seemed to suddenly get even angrier and looked like she was about to pummel him. Hearing Vahn says he wouldn't try to pursue her, she wanted to retort that he shouldn't go after her sister then. Though they were two different people, they were twins and Tione had hoped that one-day Tiona would come around to liking Finn after she finally got together with him. Then they would be able to share the same man without any problems.
After Tione's mild breakdown, Tiona and Ais dragged her away from Vahn and made room for the last person present to speak to him. Gareth, with a smile on his face and a 'serious' expression in his eyes, approached Vahn and said, "Two girls for your first time? Better prepare yourself..." Vahn nodded his head, but before he could inform Gareth he would be careful, Gareth continued, "A lot of men are probably going to try to beat you up when the rumors get out. Tiona and Ais together probably have more than a thousand lovelorn suitors."
Vahn's mind suddenly froze and Gareth laughed loudly at his response. Smacking his hand heavily against Vahn's back, he said, "What's with that look? Men are meant to struggle when it comes to love! Do your best kiddo." Gareth left the room with everyone staring at him like he had gone mad.
Seeing Vahn's current state, Tiona asked, "What did Gareth say?" Everyone seemed interested in the answer, and Vahn just helplessly responded, "He said I'd probably have to fight the thousand people that tried to court you..."
Tiona didn't seem surprised at all and loudly shouted out, "Yup~! There were only around three hundred for me, but I think Ais was somewhere around 800~?" Tiona looked toward Ais as she asked the question. Without any hesitation, Ais nodded and said, "Eight-hundred-and-three."
Hearing the two numbers, Vahn felt a heavy pressure weighing down on him, but not just because of the two girls in front of him. He was also aware there were innumerable suitors for Hephaestus as well as Eina who he had a date within just a few days. Though he already knew he would have a lot of troubles in the future, the matter turned into something far greater than he had expected. He could vaguely feel the bloodl.u.s.t of thousands of unseen men calling out for retribution. Though he was certain he imagined it, he also felt like there were the voices of a few women as well...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'RIP Vahn','I feel like some of those voices are from the comments section','Gareth is a total bro')