Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

After adjusting the dial next to the entrance of his reception room, Vahn, alongside Black Rabbit, stepped out of the Sage Dragon's Hearth and into the territory of the No Names. He had promised to stop by and prepare breakfast for everyone and that was exactly what he intended to do.

Unsurprisingly, Lily, Jin, and a couple of other members from the Senior Group were already there waiting. It wasn't really necessary, but, as the group responsible for looking after and caring for the younger members of the No Names, it had become common for the children who had received his blessing to help out with meal prep and clean up.

"Good morning, Vahn, Black Rabbit~!"

With her three tails swaying happily behind her, Lily was the first to approach with her usual kind and caring smile. She had become quite fond of receiving head pats, so, the moment she stepped into his range, Vahn extended his hand to gently caress the space between her ears, replying, "It's good to see you, Lily."

Giggling in amusement, the tips of Lily's ears twitched playfully as she mused, "You speak as though it's been a long time since our last meeting. I just saw you two days ago."

Though it had actually been much longer than two days from his perspective, Vahn just chuckled in response to the petite kitsune's remark before retracting his hand, shifting his attention to Jin, and asking, "Anything interesting happen since last night? I half expected those brats to come out and meet us."

With an increasingly common and wry smile developing across his face, Jin explained, "The last I saw him, Izayoi-san had holed himself up in the Library. As for Kasukabe-san and Kudou-san..."

Perking up the moment Jin directed his gaze towards her, Lily happily chimed, "They both stayed up late to help me put all the other children to bed. I told them they could sleep in but Asuka-san said it would be improper for the future Leader of the No Names to laze about while everyone else was working hard. I last saw her dragging off a very sleepy-looking Yo-chan to the bath~."

Replying with a soft hum, Vahn startled Black Rabbit by giving her a little nudge and saying, "Why don't you go and check up on them? Leave breakfast to us."

Though she seemed a little reluctant at first, it never took long for Black Rabbit to bounce back, a smile blossoming across her face as she replied, "Okay, Vahn. Just leave it to me~." before flexing her remarkably thick yet pliant thighs and bounding high into the sky. If she exerted herself, it was possible for her to leap several tens of kilometers in a single bound, so, shortly after she departed, Black Rabbit was already disappearing into the Manor of the No Names. As for Vahn and the rest, they immediately set about preparing breakfast for more than a hundred voracious little children...

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While his main body was having fun preparing breakfast for the No Names, several other versions of Vahn were taking care of things back at the Sage Dragon's Hearth. His morning routine consisted of helping Sarina and Nono complete theirs, preparing breakfast, and, most importantly, helping his adorably little Wererabbit take care of their kids.

Fortunately, as per usual, Vahn had all the time in the world to take care of the things he wanted to take care of. This kind of made it seem pointless to block off his access to the Little Garden, but, as there was always at least one version of himself adhering to the Principle Axis of Time, Vahn liked to think he had found a loophole in his own restrictions. Besides, it was good practice.

Taking advantage of this, one of Vahn's parallel selves had spent the entire night with Shiroyasha until she was practically purring like a kitten in his arms. At the same time, yet another version of himself had been lounging about in the Library with Leticia using his body as a pillow.

Though he didn't really need to do research, Vahn had spent a bit of time casually researching the history of the Perseus Community and its exploits ever since Laius had taken ownership.

Unsurprisingly, the Perseus Community had basically become a shadow of its former self under the leadership of Laius. Prior to his ascent as Leader, it had been a famous Community that hosted a number of high-brow Gift Games that were celebrated throughout the Little Garden. Now, however, it was basically just a tool to support Laius's hedonistic values.

The original Perseus Community had been a noble organization that proactively protected weaker Communities from Demon Lords. Since Laius had taken over, it had become a bastardized version of a Trade Community that specialized in the auction of Slaves. He had literally converted the group from a Community that protects others to a group that exploits those very same people.

Simply put, Laius was even worse than most Demon Lords. They at least owned up to the fact they were basically evil, or, at the very least, exceptionally selfish individuals who only pursued their very specific interests. Laius's very existence was self-serving, yet, as if his father's accomplishments were his own, he continued to swagger about as if the Perseus Community could do no wrong.

Fortunately, Laius was just as big a fool as his actions suggested. He was so confident in the legacy his father had left behind that he hadn't bothered to change anything even after the conditions of his Community's Game of Challenge had been made public. This allowed anyone with even half a brain to strategize against him while the members of Perseus would have no choice but to gather information or go in blind.

Against a weaker Community, Perseus would generally have no problems gathering information prior to a Rite of Challenge. They were equipped with a number of powerful artifact-type Gifts that were effectively lesser copies of legendary armaments. This included the Boots of Hermes, the Helm of Hades, and, most notably, the Head of the Gorgon.

Though they were a far cry from the Talaria actually worn by Hermes, the Boots of Hermes granted the wielder drastically increased speed, the ability of flight, and the power to trespass weak barriers without being detected. As for the Helm of Hades, it was templated from the legendary helmet that provided the titular God of Death the ability to move about completely undetected. In the hands of mortals, it granted the power of Invisibility, and, at higher grades, the ability to move through solid matter as if it didn't exist.

With the Boots of Hermes and the Helm of Hades, the members of Perseus were basically masters of infiltration. Laius also had the original artifacts that the emulated Gifts were templated from, so, while he was too much of a coward to invade an enemy base himself, it wasn't difficult to imagine him using his Gifts to take advantage of others.

Having produced items with similar effects, Vahn wasn't even remotely worried that the members of Perseus would be able to infiltrate the Sage Dragon's Hearth. They would require the originals to have any hope of infiltrating his workshop, and, the moment they got caught, the Laws of the Little Garden stipulated that he could basically deal with them however he pleased. Invading the territory of another Community was an act of war, so, even if Vahn disassembled them into their constituent molecules, the Central Network wouldn't flag him for violating any Laws.

Though he intended to spare Laius at the behest of Shiroyasha, the arrogant heir's fate ultimately depended on his choices moving forward. If Laius sent members of his Community to infiltrate his home with the intent to petrify and kidnap Sarina and Nono, he would only have himself to blame for what happened after.

Vahn had never been fond of people who rely on underhanded tactics to achieve their goals. His ledger wasn't exactly clean, but, no matter what happened, he always blazed forward like a steam train rather than a coward skulking in the shadows. The only times he even bothered to be low-key was when he had people infiltrating criminal organizations to try and gather information. Even then, however, he never targetted their families or friends to try and pressure people into doing what he wanted.

Unsurprisingly, Laius had no qualms about using underhanded methods to try and get his way. He had even used the original Helm of Hades to infiltrate a number of Communities containing women he had taken a liking to. He would then pressure them into having sex with him under the threat of having their entire Community wiped out if they refused.

The number of women Laius had victimized since his arrival in the East Side had easily exceeded one hundred. Despite this, he enjoyed a relatively positive reputation since anyone who even dared to speak out against him would simply 'disappear' in the weeks to follow.

Vahn had gotten out of the habit of taking vengeance on behalf of others. He also wasn't going to run around punishing everyone who had a checkered past since he understood, better than most, how futile such an endeavor would be. All he would end up doing is accumulating positive karma, and, as a result of the imbalance he had caused, progressively more powerful "villains" would begin to appear. He was already expected to handle a number of Demon Gods in the near future, so, from a big picture perspective, Laius was barely even qualified to be a footnote in the legends that would invariably be written about the Sage Dragon's Hearth.

The greatest threat to Laius's continued existence was sheer arrogance. So long as he played by the rules, the only thing he needed to worry about is getting thrashed and spending the next decade or two completely bald. Shiroyasha wanted to spare him and that was the only reason Vahn needed to let the arrogant second-generation wastrel limp away with his tail between his legs.

Unfortunately, Laius hadn't ruined the reputation of Perseus by being a clear-headed and forward-thinking individual. He was also extremely petty, so, shortly after noon, the barrier around the Sage Dragon's Hearth began to pulse as a red light covered most of the windows. It wasn't able to break in, but, by the time the light had faded away, a thin layer of shiny grey stone had spread across the outside of his estate.

"What the hell? Were this guy's brain cells located in his hair...?"

While his other selves were assuring Sarina and Nono that everything was okay, Vahn manifested in the reception hall of the Sage Dragon's Hearth before opening the petrified front doors and taking a step outside. When he looked back, he saw that the entire exterior of his shop had been turned to stone. The dimensional membrane separating the inside from the exterior prevented the effect from breaching even the thin glass comprising his window panes but it transparently clear that the group dressed like ancient Greek warriors had attempted to petrify the entire premises.

"Listen here, swain. We come bearing an important message from the Great Lord, Laius Perseus. In precisely seven days, the Perseus Community will be disp-"

Grabbing the face of the man that was speaking, Vahn crushed his helmet just enough to make it impossible to remove without actually killing him. Then, before the rest of the group could even think to react, several indecipherably complex magic circles appeared around him as spears from his Inventory loosed towards them at hypersonic speeds.

In less time than it took the spectators to inhale sharp breaths, more than a dozen members of the Perseus Community, several of which had been hiding in the wings using Helms of Hades, dropped to the ground. They weren't dead, but, without prompt medical treatment, there was a chance they would bleed out within the next three to five minutes.

Stepping on the petrified head resembling the legendary Medusa, Vahn crushed the duplicated Gift beneath his foot as he stared down at the man who had been speaking and said, "You really fucked up this time..."

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Papa Vahn is on the job...!','Practice makes perfect~','Arrogance without true power is hubris...')