Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Taking advantage of the fact that Arcueid had basically sealed them off in her own little world, Vahn didn't hesitate to release the Light-Elemental Star at close range. He wasn't worried about destroying the Hanging Gardens and, even if something unexpected happened, Alaya would ensure the safety of everyone within.

Arcueid, sensing the overwhelming energy contained within the golf-ball-sized sphere actually felt a little threatened but, due to Vahn surprising her, she had no choice but to take it head-on. She tried to use her Mystic Eyes of Enchantment to restrict Vahn's movements but this was a futile endeavor as directly influencing his mind was nigh-impossible with the protections of The Path and Sis...

With her last-ditch effort having no effect, Arcueid could only watch as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, the white orb in Vahn's hand continuing on its inevitable course toward her abdomen. Even before it made contact, her dress flaked away due to the intense energy, the natural barrier around her body offering no protection whatsoever against the immensely pure force.

Though it felt like several seconds from their perspectives, less than a microsecond passed in reality before Vahn and Arcueid were both enveloped in white light. He had, long ago, come up with a way to propel the expansion of the contained energies so, the moment his protective membrane of pure Source Energy vanished, the [Elemental Star] instantly expanded to more than 100m in diameter.

Pure Light Elemental energy had the properties of restraining malignant forces and, as a result of True Ancestors being considered a 'foreign element', it was one of the most effective types of energy against vampires. Arcueid was no exception to this while Vahn, due to possessing his Magia Erebea constitution and designation as Type: Omega, literally took four-hundred percent increased damage from his own attack.

For a brief moment, Vahn felt like his existence itself had been erased from reality but, having already made preparations prior to releasing the attack, he reformed outside of the destructive perimeter almost immediately after he set it off. Even then, his skin felt like it was on fire and, if not for the protective layer of Source Energy he erected, his body would still be destroyed just by being near the epicenter.

It was during the eruption of the Light-Elemental Star that Zelretch, who had been observing since the beginning, decided to chime in, asking, "Do you need my assistance, Your Majesty...?"

Hearing the old man's question, Vahn couldn't help but laugh out loud, something he would regret almost immediately since a clawed-hand emerged from the pure-white sphere of light, gripping his face. He felt his head snap back as his teeth bowed inwards, an unpleasant sensation that made his brain buzz in frustration...

Instead of being destroyed, Vahn felt foreign mana envelop his entire body, creating an effect similar to spatial anchoring. As a result, he was propelled backward by Arcueid's charge, crashing through what remained of the projected Hanging Gardens. This brought them out of the floating fortress and, as a result, Arcueid's power seemed to rapidly increase without any upper limits while Vahn felt a powerful suppressive force try to invade his body.

With Vahn restrained by her mana, Arcueid tightened her grip on his face, a somewhat vicious smile on her face as she mused, "You may be able to emulate the race and appearance of others, but your true nature is that of a Greater Divine Spirit, isn't it? I could feel your existence fading from your own attack..."

Without waiting for Vahn's response, Arcueid manipulated her Marble Phantasm, changing the blood-red sky, complete with a crimson moon, into an endless expanse of white light. The only area unaffected was a small zone around Zelretch's body but, with Arcueid's mana making even small movements impossible, Vahn didn't exactly have the opportunity to exploit this. Rather, the moment the light appeared in his surroundings, he began to rapidly dissipate, his resistances providing him no reprieve from the intense pain.

Arcueid was also affected by the domain she had created but, compared to Vahn, she got off easy. Her skin appeared to be in a constant state of burning and forced regeneration while he, unable to defend himself, began to rapidly flake away. Despite this, Vahn stared directly back at Arcueid, his previously aquamarine eyes now blazing with a fierce blue light. This obviously had no effect on the resolute woman but, deep inside his chest, something was stirring at Vahn's very core...

If the action wouldn't guarantee he vanished even faster, Vahn would have burst out laughing since, for the first time in a long while, his [Chainbreaker] experience was rapidly increasing. He had been able to increase it to A-Rank during his training with Scáthach but, as she never truly intended to kill him, it developed at an extremely slow rate. Now, however, Vahn could see the experience ticking up rapidly and, long before his body dissolved away into nothing, powerful pulses of energy, timed with the beating of his heart, began to crack the shell of mana surrounding his body.

Believing he was simply trying to escape, Arcueid kept increasing the amount of mana she used to restrain Vahn. She was condensing a veritable ocean of mana to entrap him but, to her shock and awe, it felt like the pulses of energy he emitted were outpacing her accumulation. Even her hand, which had been suffused with enough mana to make it comparable to an A-Rank Noble Phantasm, began to crack. To further exacerbate matters, these peculiar cracks couldn't be healed by her usual regeneration and, even though she tried to cut off her senses to the limb, the pain seemed didn't diminish in the slightest.

Eventually, Arcueid couldn't keep her grip on Vahn's face so, with one final pulse, the mana she had used to restrict him exploded outward with enough force to tear the void. There had been enough mana present to wipe out an entire country so, in the aftermath of Vahn's release, he and Arcueid were, once again, destroyed. This didn't matter to either of them, however, as the destruction of the physical body meant very little to Vahn and Tier 5 existences like Arcueid.

By the time the explosion faded, Arcueid had completely regenerated her body, dress included, while Vahn, using the small window of opportunity, finished a quick chant, infusing a light-elemental spell into his Magia Erebea. As the void began to collapse back in on himself, Arcueid could only watch with a cautious glint in her eyes as he smiled confidently and shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, 'Emperor of Light'!"

As Vahn hadn't been replacing his destroyed equipment, the only thing he had been wearing was a pair of custom [Aegis] shorts. Thus, with his activation of 'Emperor of Light', the changes to his body could be seen clearly, stunning both Arcueid and Zelretch alike. This was due to the fact that Vahn's height increased to precisely 200cm and, a stark contrast to his lean and athletic physique, he now had a refined, muscular, appearance. At the same time, his skin had gain a golden luster as what appeared to be tribal tattoos comprised of light covered his arms, legs, and shoulders.

While all of these were impressive sights, it was Vahn's blazing golden irises and the massive halo of light floating behind his back that really stood out. The latter was comprised of complex runes and, despite their vast knowledge and incomparable understanding of 'Mystery', neither Zelretch nor Arcueid could make sense of their structure. Then, as if to completely dash any hope they had of understanding the situation, Vahn parted his hands, sending a wave of vermillion flames out from his body as he muttered in a voice that seemed to echo through the area, "Vermillion Bird's Descent..."

Understanding that Arcueid wasn't a foe he could deal any meaningful damage to in a base Magia Erebea transformation, Vahn overlapped his Zhuque form with his Emperor of Light. This caused the white tattoos on his body to turn vermillion as massive wings sprouted behind his back, complete with runic patterns of their own.

Without being afforded the opportunity to study Vahn's transformation, the latter turned into a literal beam of light, impacting the area where Arcueid had been floating previously. Her body was instantly destroyed and, as a result of his inability to really control the form, Vahn ended up breaking her Marble Phantasm. This was only the beginning of his journey, however, as he was traveling at a speed nearing 300,000km/s. As a result, Vahn ended up far outside of the earth's atmosphere, deep into outer space...

Seeing where he ended up, Vahn felt like laughing but, due to the vacuum of space, nothing came out from his mouth. He could see the earth in the distance, a tiny blue marble amidst a vast, endless expanse of stars. It was actually quite beautiful but, due to his leaving the planet, Alaya had basically been ejected from his side. Though she was still attached to his other body, he could feel that she was annoyed with him so, slowing his speed to a manageable level, he quickly returned to the planet to continue the battle...

Unfortunately, the only thing waiting for Vahn upon his return was a frowning Arcueid and a slightly pale Zelretch. The latter was also a Dead Apostle Ancestor so he was even weaker to Light-Elemental energy than Arcueid. This, combined with the fact Vahn effectively became a composite bullet of Light and Yang Elemental energy, was enough to make the elderly Magus sweat. He knew that, if he didn't prepare the proper countermeasures, that kind of attack would be able to seriously injure, if not outright kill him.

Sensing that Arcueid's desire to battle had faded, Vahn resisted the urge to sigh as he dispelled his transformation and returned to his base state. Truthfully, he could only keep up that form for a few minutes, at best, so it didn't really give him too much of an advantage. This was something neither Arcueid or Zelretch was privy to, however, so Vahn couldn't blame them for gawking at him as if he was some kind of strange and terrifying creature.

With silence dominating the atmosphere, Vahn took it upon himself to shatter the tensions so, after making sure the Hanging Gardens was still safe, he tilted his head slightly and asked, "Will you join me for tea? I don't believe there is any actual enmity between us. Once you understand the situation better, I'm certain we will be able to coexist as allies, not enemies. This entire situation is because of that idiot's inability to explain things properly..."

Hearing Vahn call him an idiot, Zelretch could only issue an awkward laugh in response. He wanted to say something to defend himself but, considering Vahn's current state, the chances of the latter listening were small. The truth of the matter was that Arcueid, due to her impatience, forced him to release her body so that she could leave the Millennium Castle. Then, upon sensing the current state of the world, she bolted toward the location of the Hanging Garden, the central point where all the world's enmity was gathering.

Though the location of Avalon was no longer kept a secret, normal people associated the Hanging Gardens as the symbol of the current change in era. Their anger, hatred, frustrations, and a host of other negative emotions, coalesced to form an overwhelming amount of negative energy. This was something that could be exploited by capable Magi but, with the defenses measures of the Hanging Gardens, it would take more than a simple curse or two to have any real effect on it. After all, the main target of the people's hatred was Vahn himself, not Semiramis' Hanging Gardens.

With the battle having come to an end, Zelretch felt his presence was no longer required so, after tapping his cane against the air a few times, he opened a spatial gate and said, "Honestly, I would like to stick around and have a go myself but, after seeing that display, I think I'll go home and relax for a bit. The world is already chaotic enough so try not to fight amongst yourselves if you can help it...Arcueid, my previous words to you were the truth. Listen to Vahn and make your own decision...I would think, after all this time, you would know better than to make assumptions..."

Hearing Zelretch's parting words, the frown on Arcueid's face turned into a morose and melancholic expression as she hung her head and released a tired sigh. She didn't really get the impression that Vahn was a bad person so, as Zelretch suggested, she had let her emotions get to her. She had never been that great at socializing so, when she got upset, her instinct was always to act on her emotions rather than talk it over. In this past, this had caused several tragedies and, unable to bear the burden of intrapersonal relationships, she ultimately just ran away from everything...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'That's one hell of a night light...','Even Flex Tape can't seal the Emperor...!','The price of solitude is loneliness, the currency paid in suffering')

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