Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

When the smoke cleared and the phantom white tiger vanished, Bancroft could be seen collapsed on the ground with blood pooling from his body. This was less the result of Vahn's attack, however, as the man had overexerted himself far behind his limits. Most of his bones had shattered from the strain and, while his organs had been protected, many of his muscles had turned to a pulp as they visibly deflated.

Vahn knew that Bancroft had been sent out as a result of his enemies having a decent understanding of his character. By sending the middle-aged man out, they intended to temper his anger a little and, by having his opponent make a plea on the verge of death, he was 'honor-bound' to stay true to his word. There were powerful forces at play behind the scenes and, if a person did not keep their word, there were a number of powerful curses and rituals that could be used against them.

None of that mattered to Vahn, however, as he hadn't intended to completely annihilate the errant family from the face of the earth. They still had their uses and, by eliminating those that had enacted this scheme, he could elevate one of the more 'ideal' candidates to the position of next family Head. After all, while Alexander and Allard were the two reigning powers within the family, they both had children while the previous generation of the Trambelio family was still alive and well...

With this in mind, Vahn slowly made his way through now silent hallways, periodically stopping when he detected signs of life hiding away. There were several places that showed up as blind spots within his perception but, by forcibly sending his intent into the areas, he was able to peer inside to find the treasures and people hiding within. Most of these safe rooms were filled with staff that had used the chaos to hide away so Vahn simply ignored them before moving on.

It wasn't until Vahn used his Telekinesis to rip a large section of the floor away that further defensive measures were activated by the Bounded Field of the estate. Magical energy began to collect in the shadows and, after a few seconds, skeletal figures know as Dragon Tooth Warriors, an intermediate level summon, began to emerge. They were named as such due to a fragment of a dragon's tooth being used at the catalyst for their summoning so, unless it was a very profligate family, it was rare to see them in action.

Vahn didn't even need to lift a hand to deal with foes like this so he continued walking through the corridors in a casual manner as the Dragon Tooth Warriors around him were crushed by an invisible force. Telekinesis could be used for more than just lifting objects and anchoring himself to the void so, with his increased mental capacity, Vahn was able to crush weaker enemies just by locating them within his Domain. This didn't work well against people with high Od and strong [Magic Resistance] but, despite their name, Dragon Tooth Warriors were actually very weak against even simple spells like [Gandr].

Eventually, Vahn reached a stone corridor that, at a glance, appeared to be a dead end. It was rather unfortunate for his enemies but, from the very beginning, he didn't rely on conventional methods of detection. His domain was actually a very powerful perceptive ability and, while he couldn't extend his senses into the hidden room beyond, just knowing there was a void in his perception was all the information he needed to discover most secrets.

Extending his hand, Vahn began to walk forward and, while it didn't show at first, the muscles on his arm began to flex as the veins in his temples began to throb slightly. At the same time, the wall in front of him began to collapse inward, the shape of a palm embedding itself in the highly reinforced material. He hadn't been able to send his intent inside so Vahn decided to brute force it in order to terrify whatever may be hiding within.

It took longer than he would have liked but, after about twenty seconds, the meter-thick wall of anti-magic material gave out. This was much like a steam engine erupting due to intense pressure so the pieces of metal that Vahn had been pushing on shot forward with tremendous force. It embedded itself into the far wall, more than twenty meters away, causing the entire chamber to rumble while the people inside released startled and terrified cries.

Entering into the room, Vahn noticed that only women and children were present so, for a brief moment, he actually panicked internally. It was fortunate that nobody had been in the path of the 'door' he had made as he would rather avoid having the blood of young children on his hands. He believed that children were inherently innocent and, while they may do terrible things in their youth, this was generally the result of their parents and teachers failing them. If they were guided properly, it was possible to set them on a better path.

After sending calming energy through his domain, Vahn asked in a commanding tone, "Where are Alexander and Allard Trambelio? I'm not fond of playing games."

By manipulating the transmission of sound through his domain, Vahn's words were only heard by the adult women in the chamber. He didn't want to terrify the children too much as the oldest one present was only nine years old. Most of the other children would be at the Clock Tower around this time so he would need to be a little bit more careful as he went around destroying the place.

The oldest of the women present, appearing to be in her early thirties, put on a stronger front than the other girls as she stood up and answered, "There are only women and children here. We don't know where the Lord and his brother are! Please, leave this place at once...!"

Vahn was a little surprised by the woman's response as, based on her reaction, it was almost as if she didn't know who he was. With this in mind, he asked, "What is your relation to the Trambelio family? Are you the wives and mistresses of Alexander and Allard...?" Though it was obvious based on their current location, Vahn still wanted to see how the woman would respond.

Without even the smallest of fluctuations to give herself away, the woman shook her head, two of the younger children clinging to her dress fearfully as she answered, "We are mere servants of the Trambelio family. Please, if you have grievances against the Lord and his brethren, do not take it out on these children. They are innocent..."

If not for his ability to see auras and sense the internal structure of a person's body, Vahn wouldn't have been able to discern whether or not the woman was lying to him. She obviously had a lot of practice telling lies so her life must have been pretty difficult leading up to this moment. Since, as she said, these children were indeed innocent, Vahn decided to play along with the ruse. In more ways than one, the women that had married into the Trambelio family were victims as their marriage was decided for them at a very early age, often without their consent.

Having made his decision, Vahn gave a curt nod to the woman before turning his back to the group and saying, "This place is no longer safe, servant of the Trambelio family. Head towards the surface, you'll find a man named Bancroft being treated by his men near the main hall. I imagine he'll have a use for you..."

Though he could sense her aura fluctuate greatly, the woman's expression didn't change even the tiniest amount as she performed a polite and subservient curtsy, answering, "Thank you for your advice, my Lord. We'll do as you have suggested..." Then, with a brave front, she pulled along two of the younger children while the other mistresses followed closely behind, each showing considerable fear as they edged around the stationary Vahn.

Vahn just pretended not to even notice these women while, standing in the void at his side, Scáthach explained, "That woman is Stella Vane Trambelio, the current head wife of Alexander Trambelio. All of the other women are also the wives of Alexander, including the youngest with dark purple hair..."

Hearing Scáthach's explanation, Vahn just shook his head before asking, ("Has she had any children yet...?"). This was immediately refuted by Scáthach, allowing him to relax a little, even if he was still incensed by the fact such a young woman was likely forced to marry into the family. She suffered the fate that Olga had barely avoided so it felt more personal than it otherwise would have.

Once the assortment of women and children had departed, Vahn turned his attention to the now empty room as he said, "Run a trace for me. Something is off about this place."

In response to Vahn's words, Scáthach appeared out of thin air, her scarlet eyes showing a rare accusatory look as she asked, "Can you not ask Alaya for such things...?"

Hearing his Shishou's retort, Vahn blinked in mild surprise as it actually hadn't even crossed his mind to use Alaya in such a manner. He had grown so used to just coexisting with the blue entity that she only really crossed his mind when he was messing around with her. This was primarily due to the fact that she used most of his reserves to fulfill his wish of protecting children so, for the last year or so, he had made very few direct requests of her.

Without waiting for Vahn's reply, Scáthach created a complex string of [Primordial Rune]s, each flying off in random directions before sinking into the walls, floor, and ceiling. It was only when she was finishing up with her search that she turned back to Vahn, the same look of blame on her face as she said, "You should leave matters like this to myself and others. You are too emotional to handle matters like this personally."

Though he knew she had a point, Vahn shook his head to refute her words, saying, "If I keep using you to solve all my problems, our enemies will eventually develop countermeasures against you. You might not fear such things but, even if I can resummon you through the Throne, I'd rather not have even the momentary death of an ally on my conscience. Call me selfish if you'd like but this is my way of doing things. If I can't act as I please as an Emperor, what is the point of having such a title?"

Scáthach would usually agree with Vahn when he made such arguments but, this time around, she was less than pleased with his reaction. She sent another rune, this one shimmering with a blue hue, toward an area near the center of the room. Once it contacted the floor, a massive magic circle was revealed, one which had faded away after having been used previously. It was a very complex spatial transfer formation and, even with her abilities, tracing the destination was very difficult.

This wasn't what upset Scáthach, however, as she didn't like that Vahn was being reckless without any real need to do so. His showing up like this allowed their enemies to slowly get a grasp on his power and, though the odds of them actually being able to deal with him were slim, there was no such thing as impossible. Even Gods could be killed and sealed so she didn't appreciate that he was underestimating his enemies to such an extent.

To make sure he understood just how foolish his decision was, Scáthach unceremoniously grabbed Vahn by the collar before pulling him into a spatial void and teleporting them above the estate. She then pointed towards the Bounded Field surrounding the estate, her eyes colder than eternal ice as she stated, "Your enemies don't know your capabilities. They can only make assumptions based on the information they have been able to glean from observing you in action. Without knowing about your other bodies, some idiots will get ideas about going to extreme lengths once you appear. Do you understand how foolish your actions are!?"

Rather than answer Scáthach's question, Vahn was focused on the looming sense of danger that he had only become aware of after she pointed it out to him. He could sense something far beyond his perception, something lurking far beyond the atmosphere of the planet. Then, as if to punctuate the words of his Shishou, his nerves felt like they all simultaneously erupted into small motes of intense flame as, from the exosphere of the planet, several reinforced magical rods, each covered in complex runes, were released from their orbital platform...

(A/N: Yeah, I'm confirmed sick at this point. I didn't want to just do an 'update' chapter though so I went ahead and wrote one to inform everyone :P. I've taken a lot of meds so I'll probably have to edit this chapter once I'm feeling better. I'll see you all later as my bed is playing a very enticing melody that I simply can't resist.)

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