Chapter 2128: Brazen
After leaving his Faux Template to take care of the closing ceremony for the first day, Vahn returned to the Sage Dragon's Hearth with Fenrir, Usalia, and Seraphina. At the same time, another version of him split off to go meet with the members of Chhah-Hathiyaar(Six-Arms), the Community that Ziros belonged to.
Finding the burly old man at a rather cozy-looking tavern, Vahn briefly eyed the other guests before making his way over and taking a seat. This earned him a gruff chuckle from Ziros, who, after taking a sip of his beer, remarked, "You're a bold one. Not many people would walk into a room filled with potential enemies."
Manifesting a mug of his own, Vahn emptied half the glass before exhaling a plume of alcoholic vapors from his mouth. Then, in response to the man's words, he adopted a smile and said, "The curious thing about life is that everyone we meet along our path is a potential enemy. At the same time, however, there is also the potential for cooperation and friendship. Besides, even if you were to all team up against me...I wouldn't be the one to pay a price..."
Though he found the first half of Vahn's words palatable, the second half caused a deep frown to settle on Ziros's face. He didn't get the impression that Vahn was trying to threaten him. There was no animosity in his words. Rather, he exuded the aura of an aged warrior who was perfectly willing but had grown tired of killing.
Shaking his head, Ziros made his intentions clear, explaining, "I didn't gather these brats to try and intimidate you. They're mostly here to celebrate their victory. I won't deny I had ulterior motives in participating in your Vahnatus but there is no ill will between my Community and the Sage Dragon's Hearth. At least, I would hope not..."
Without meeting the man's gaze, Vahn maintained his smile as he stared at the contents of his glass and mused, "That's an interesting thing to hear from someone who tried to 'erase' me..."
As he had just been about to take a drink of his beer, Ziros ended up doing a spit take that caused everyone in the room to immediately look over. This included the four-armed woman fated to fight Usalia, the strongest after Ziros himself.
"You okay, old man? Need someone to pat your back? I have hands to spare."
Waving the woman down, Ziros pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth before adopting a wry smile as he said, "The only reason I used such an attack was because I knew it wouldn't be effective against you. Even now, I know this isn't your 'true' form. As far as I can tell, there should be at least five others, correct...?"
Though the number was a little off, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders, answering, "Something like that..." before emptying the contents of his glass. Then, with a slightly more serious expression, he looked towards the old man and asked, "What did you want to talk about? I don't manifest multiple bodies for recreational purposes. I'm a pretty busy guy."
Nodding his head in understanding, Ziros gestured for Pweamma to come over while saying, "Truth be told, I can't actually talk about the things I'd like to discuss with you. If it wasn't for my position, I might not even recall that an incident had happened..."
Interrupting Ziros's speech, Pweamma adopted a toothy smile as she looked toward Vahn and said, "This is my first time meeting a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Mind if I shake your hand?"
While Ziros was shaking his head with a helpless expression on his face, Vahn just returned a smile of his own as he extended his hand to shake the woman's hand. When it closed around his own like a vice, he wasn't particularly surprised. The woman was clearly a member of the Asuri tribe, and, while they weren't exactly like Amazons due to the existence of males and females, they were a race that regarded individual strength and power over all else.
"Hoooooo...quite the grip you got there..."
Noticing that Vahn's grip was comparable to her own, fiery blue runes began to spread across Pwamma's arm as her strength drastically increased. Even then, however, Vahn just raised his brow at her, smiling as he asked, "Is this a competition? If so, I might have to get serious..."
With her previously cheeky smile fading away, Pweamma became serious as she said, "Bring it on..." in a strained yet expectant tone.
Though he could have crushed her hand even without it, the edges of Vahn's smile rose up as gold scales promptly erupted from his forearm. At the same time, his hand morphed into a glistening set of claws that closed around Pweamma's hand as if he were squeezing tofu.
Despite paling, a condition that was rather obvious due to her ashen-grey skin, Pweamma didn't cry out in pain. Instead, a smile spread across her face as she remarked, "You're strong..."
Maintaining a visibly amused smile, Vahn answered, "I'm well aware." before releasing Pweamma's hand and asking, "Need help with that?"
Shaking her head, Pweamma surprised Vahn by reaching up to the middle of her bicep and simply twisting off the entire arm as if it were attached to a doll. He had noticed it during their handshake, but, seeing the shimmering metallic surface where her stump should be, it was clear that Asuri were not purely biological organisms.
Waving around her 'severed' appendage, Pweamma, now appearing completely lax, mused, "When I said I had hands to spare, I never expected I would be losing one. Here, take this. You earned it~."
Though it wasn't the strangest thing he had seen, Vahn couldn't help smiling wryly as he caught Pweamma's detached limb out of the air. It was heavier than expected, but, considering her muscles and bones were made out of a pale-golden metal and other metallic fibers, he wasn't too surprised. Instead, he just casually tossed it into his Inventory under the amused eyes of the inordinately tall Asuri.
Before Pweamma could derail the conversation even further, Ziros loudly cleared his throat before saying, "Pweamma...please, take a seat..."
Hearing the old man's words, Pweamma scrunched up her nose but ultimately complied by taking a seat on the floor. Her height, combined with the fact she was sitting in seiza, actually placed her at a similar level to the seated Vahn. The latter found this a little peculiar, but, understanding she would probably break a normal chair, he didn't bother to ask why she was sitting on the floor.
After nodding his head in approval, Ziros directed his gaze at Vahn, saying, "I've never been fond of subterfuge and deceit so I'm just gonna come out and say it. Once the Vahnatus has ended, I want you to accept Pweamma into your Community as a spy."
Raising his brows, the smile on Vahn's face faded as he asked, "You want me to willfully accept a spy into my home? And to think, it hasn't even been a few minutes since you called me bold..."
Exhaling a sigh, Ziros adopted a serious yet noticeably apologetic expression as he explained, "Your power is far too great. It wouldn't have been an issue if you were like those apathetic old monsters in the 1-Digit Gates. Unfortunately, your actions are clearly guided by your own moral compass. It's fine for the moment, but, should you deviate toward the path of a tyrant, I fear the Little Garden will find itself enthralled in yet another war..."
"What does that have to do with accepting a spy into my home...?"
Though he had already reached a number of conclusions, Vahn wanted to hear the excuse Ziros had thought of. At the same time, he briefly shifted his attention towards Pweamma, who, despite being revealed as a potential spy, appeared more bored than concerned.
Understanding Vahn's confusion, Ziros supplied a curt nod before explaining, "Even if you don't do anything to openly antagonize them, it is only a matter of time before those in power begin to feel threatened by your existence. Having an informant within the Sage Dragon's Hearth will help abate their fears and prevent them from acting on misinformation. I can't promise they won't antagonize you, but, so long as you don't deviate from the path of righteousness and decide to burn the Little Garden to the ground, they won't be able to justify rallying an army..."
"Hmmm...in other words, you're putting a leash on both sides. Pweamma's reports will prevent any misunderstandings from happening, and, if I go rogue, her 'sacrifice' will give you time to prepare. Is that it...?"
Nodding his head in affirmation, Ziros cast a glance towards Pweamma, his expression becoming visibly conflicted as he revealed, "The Asuri, much like Angels, are remarkably pure beings. When a member of the Asuri tribe is corrupted by malice, it will reflect in their appearance and personality. If Pweamma 'falls', you can expect the entire Divine Army to mobilize against you..."
Snorting through his nose, Vahn filled his glass with an aromatic ale as he mused, "Thanks for giving me yet another reason to refuse your offer..."
Furrowing his brows, Ziros was about to advise Vahn not to make a hasty decision when Pweamma beat him to the punch, asking, "You're not gonna let me join? Come on, man. You can't do me dirty like that. You already got me all hot and bothered and now you're giving me the cold shoulder? Not cool."
Blinking in surprise, Vahn directed an incredulous look towards the disgruntled-looking Pweamma, stating, "You have a rather interesting way of speaking..."
Supplying a snort of her own, Pweamma met Vahn's gaze with a visibly annoyed look as she flatly replied, "You got a problem with the way I talk, lizard breath...?"
Though he raised one of his brows, Vahn didn't hesitate to answer, "Not really, no. At the very least, it has nothing to do with my refusal. As for your hot and bothered remark...I'm flattered, really, but I'm not going to invite you into my home just because you're willing to sleep with me. I have more than enough women for that and I'm not going to stress them out by inviting a literal spy into their midst. Besides, I don't care how the Gods view me. If they come looking for trouble, that's on them. Everyone is responsible for the consequences of their actions. The Gods shouldn't be the exception; they should set the example..."
On that note, Vahn downed the contents of his glass in a single swig before slamming it down on the table with just enough force to draw the attention of the entire tavern. Then, before Pweamma or Ziros could reply, he simply vanished from the tavern as if he had never existed in the first place...
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Several kilometers from the tavern where Vahn had been meeting with Ziros, a bespectacled young woman with red and black hair could be seen lying beneath a light-refracting blanket as she peered through the viewfinder of a rather dated-looking camera.
"This is the scoop of the century! I can't wait to write an exposé~!"
As soon as those words left the woman's lips, the ostensibly invisible blanket covering her body was pulled away to reveal none other than Kanade Katana in a simple black t-shirt and a curious pair of panties with the words 'eat up' emblazoned across her butt cheeks.
After freezing like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, Katana slowly peered over her shoulder to find Vahn standing there with a deadpan expression on his face. The tips of her ears became tinged with a red hue, but, rather than attempt to cover her pert and shapely bottom, she made a point to squeeze her cheeks together as she asked, "I don't suppose I could convince you to let me keep my footage...?"
Though his eyes were briefly drawn to the woman's shapely bottom, Vahn ultimately just raised a brow as he asked, "What footage...?"
Eyes widening, Katana turned towards her camera and the audio equipment she had set up to find that all of her tapes were missing. This caused her to panic, but, by the time she had turned around, Vahn was already gone...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn ain't scurred of nothin'...!','Begone, thot...!','That's a plus-sized oof...')