Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though there were a number of expert marksmen participating in the Shooting Competition, none were able to compete against Seraphina. She might not have been particularly accurate when Vahn first met her, but, after a thousand years of practice, she could even snipe an enemy commander on a command deck hundreds of kilometers away with relative precision.

Since it was a competition that took into account the existence of Demigods, Demihumans, and people with Divine Blessings, the difficulty of events increased without limit until a final winner was decided. By the end of the Shooting Competition, Seraphina was dinging targets moving around at hypersonic speeds. Only a single other contestant, a descendant of Hou Yi himself, had managed to keep up with her. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions placed on Gift usage, the youthful-looking Chinese girl eventually hit a wall due to being Tier 3 while Seraphina was pushing the pinnacle of Tier 4.

If Vahn had been in Seraphina's shoes, not that she was wearing any, he might have let the earnest young marksmen win. Unfortunately for her, Seraphina's entire reason for participating in the event was to show off. Thus, the moment her victory was assured, she began showboating and posing as much as possible while dinging every target as if her bullets were magnetic. This caused a number of people to think she was cheating, but, thanks to Black Rabbit serving as Judge Master, none of them were brave enough to come forward with their allegations...

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"Yahoooo~! Did you see my performance~?"

Since Vahn's event wasn't until much later in the day, Seraphina was able to track him down after giving a short interview about how great she was. The presence of Fenrir and Usalia slightly irked her, but, without losing her smile, she shamelessly walked over and straddled Vahn's lap without changing out of her bikini.

Though she squinted her eyes in response to Seraphina's behavior, Fenrir didn't say anything as she was currently too weak to punish the pink-haired Demoness. She would probably emerge the victor in a life and death battle but that was a moot point considering she would never kill the women her Master was fond of.

Fortunately for Fenrir and Usalia both, Vahn reacted to Seraphina's selfish display by giving her pert and bubbly butt a firm smack. This caused her body to jump, back straightening as a surprised yelp emanating from her throat. When he removed his hand, a very prominent red mark could be seen on her previously unblemished, perfectly white bottom.

"Hey! What's the big idea...!?"

Were it not for the presence of Fenrir and Usalia, Seraphina wouldn't have been bothered by the fact Vahn had spanked her. Rather, she was quite fond of being 'disciplined' when they were alone together.

Giving her opposite cheek a much lighter smack, Vahn maintained a relaxed yet no-nonsense look on his face as he firmly stated, "You know better than to antagonize the others. You also know I give you a lot of special treatment. I don't appreciate you stepping in and behaving selfishly like this..."

Though she adopted a rather prominent pout, Seraphina didn't attempt to refute Vahn's words. She might be selfish but she knew when she was in the wrong. Vahn was also massaging away the pain in her bottom so she merely harumphed before looking between Fenrir and Usalia, saying, "Sorry..." in a pouty yet sincere tone.

Since her Master had already meted out punishment, Fenrir's resentment had largely dissipated as she replied, "It's okay. Just don't do it again. Master might tolerate bad girls but he is most fond of those who make an effort to be good. You might be a Demon and a Succubus but you can still be a good girl if you do your best."

Offering a wry smile in response to Fenrir's usual ministrations, Seraphina briefly shifted her gaze to Usalia. The latter simply shrugged at her, so, now that both girls had accepted her apology, she met Vahn's gaze, her demeanor changing completely as she seductively purred, "When can I expect my reward~?"

Restraining the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn matched Seraphina's gaze with a smoldering leer as he answered, "That depends...Fenrir and Usalia may have forgiven you but a single smack isn't much of a punishment. I'm thinking of using this as an opportunity to help the three of you grow closer..."

Furrowing her brows, Seraphina was going to refuse until Vahn's index and middle fingers pressed into a sensitive spot near the base of her spine. This caused a sonorous moan to escape her throat as her tail and wings promptly unfurled from her body. This was foul play on Vahn's part, but, now that her switch was flipped, Seraphina didn't care if she had to share. Her body craved the pleasure Vahn was capable of carving into her literal soul and there was no way in hell she was going to miss out on the opportunity to experience it...

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With the combat events scheduled to take place over a three-day period, it was late afternoon by the time Vahn's turn came up. He was going to be participating in the Pankration, and, as could be expected, the people who had gathered for the event were among the most powerful in the 5-6-Digit Gates. This included people like Sigurd, who, ever since his Community's defeat during the previous Gift Game, had turned over a new leaf.

Seeing Vahn among the contestants, a massive grin appeared on Sigurd's face as he walked over, hand raised as he said, "Yo! Long time no see! How've you been, man?"

Returning a casual wave of his own, a smile developed across Vahn's face as he replied, "Not bad. How about you? I've heard quite a number of rumors regarding Leviathan's Tail these past couple of months..."

Scratching the back of his head, Sigurd's expression became somewhat awkward. Despite that, the smile never left his face as he answered, "Yeah...I'm guessing I have you to thank for that? Whatever you did to my body seems to have increased my virility and removed the restriction preventing me from siring offspring with Gyda and Ragna. At this point, they're both around 7 weeks pregnant..."

Though he now knew that Gyda and Ragna were Sigurd's blood-related siblings, Vahn wasn't going to judge the trio for their actions. Love could be pretty indiscriminate at times, and, based on what he learned after the fact, it was pretty obvious the three were committed to their relationship. They were willing to run away from home and even threw their lot in with Demons. Gyda seemed like she was on the fence for a while but that changed pretty quickly after Sigurd's bloodline purification.

Patting the man's shoulder, Vahn maintained a genial smile as he said, "Don't worry about it. After you transformed into a demon, your genetics were irreversibly changed. When I purified your body, you basically became a completely different person. If anyone gives you trouble about Gyda's and Ragnar's pregnancies, make sure to contact me. I'm not going to fight your battles for you but I'm more than willing to give anyone willing to target expectant mothers a piece of my mind..."

Returning a sincerely grateful smile, Sigurd nearly clapped Vahn on the shoulders before deciding against it. He doubted he would be able to hurt the humanoid dragon but there was quite a big difference in their height. If by some miracle he was able to send Vahn stumbling, no amount of apologizing would be able to suffice.

"Thanks...I appreciate it more than words can ever express..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn surprised Sigurd by saying, "Then don't use words. Show me through your actions that I wasn't wrong when I spared your life. If I later discover you were a terrible father, don't expect any mercy."

Though his words were said in a casual, ostensibly joking tone, the look in Vahn's eyes made it very clear he wasn't fooling around. His views on fatherhood had been shaped by the expectations he had for himself. He understood others couldn't be held to the same standards he had for himself but he would be damned if he allowed someone he spared to mistreat or exploit their children.

Despite feeling a powerful shudder run through his body, Sigurd was genuinely grateful for Vahn's words. He was the type that excelled under pressure, so, while he wasn't sure he was qualified to be a father, he was determined to do his best. Now that he knew Vahn was going to be keeping an eye on him, he actually felt relieved. Thus, after quickly recovering from his jitters, a guffaw comparable to a dragon's roar emanated from his throat...

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Staring at his opponent, an aged gentleman with spiky white hair, a handlebar moustache, and fashionable facial hair, Vahn couldn't help smiling. It was clear from the man's masterfully sculpted figure he had honed his skills through actual combat. There were even scars covering much of his body, and, while there were a number of exit wounds on his back, it was possible to intuit he had never taken a blow from behind.

"You remind me of a good friend of mine. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of."

Returning a fierce yet grandfatherly smile, the inordinately burly man, Ziros, answered, "Truth be told, I was looking forward to facing you in the finals. I never expected out bout would take place in the first series of rounds. I almost feel sorry for the young men scheduled to fight after us..."

To punctuate his words, Ziros adopted a loose stance that somewhat gave off the impression it was more stable than a mountain. He hand his right hand loosely clenched near his hip, his left open near his chin, and his feet spread apart in an ostensibly casual manner despite leaving no visible openings.

As it had been years since he had an actual form, Vahn just leaned forward slightly with his hands barely raised from his sides. From the perspective of the crowd, it was a completely unremarkable stance, but, from the perspective of Ziros, it was almost as though Vahn had just placed his hands on the grips of two unfathomably sharp katanas.

"Hoooo..."

Undaunted, Ziros responded to Vahn's stance by charging forward with such speed that his fist had impacted the latter's guard in an instant. Then, while his punch seemingly did no damage at all, the space where he had been standing erupted from the force of his movement.

Raising his brows, Vahn was slightly surprised to see that flow of time stagnate to such an extreme degree. Ziros was much faster than he expected, and, had he not personally confirmed each of the participating Communities, he would have assumed the man was a War God from the 4-Digit Gates.

"Not bad at all..."

Seeing his fist deflected to the side by Vahn's open palm, Ziros's eyes widened as he immediately shifted his momentum into a fierce roundhouse kick that created a visible black trail through the surrounding space. The force behind his blows were enough to distort space and time, yet, as if it didn't matter in the slightest, Vahn just leaned his head back before reaching up to touch his ankle in an instant.

With a far more serious expression on his face, Ziros created a bit of distance as he shouted, "Very good...!" before throwing a punch coated in a silvery-white energy. When it was released, a pillar of similarly colored light impacted the area where Vahn had been standing. It tore into the ground as if it didn't exist, and, when the light began to fade, everything around Vahn had been 'erased' from existence. Unfortunately, Vahn, everything immediately below, and everything behind him were all unaffected.

"The Law of Erasure? Well, this just got interesting..."

Hearing Vahn's remark, Ziros's eyes widened to an almost comical extent as he never expected his greatest secret to be discovered after a single exchange. Immediately thereafter, however, the tell-tale smile of a battle junky developed across his face as four metallic arms erupted from his body...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: '*SMACK*','Vahn can be such a bro at times...','TFW the favorites end up fighting in the first round xD...')