"Dally!" exclaimed Yugo, a look of panic and concern flashing across his face. He had only known Percedal for a short time, but seeing the person who had volunteered to help him rescue his village get sent crashing into a tree and knocked unconscious shook him.
"Rest assured, Yugo. He will awaken shortly..." stated Vahn, using Wound Transfer to treat Percedal's injuries before looking down at the hatted boy and asking, "More to the point, what brings the three of you to this place? I would think that with a name like the Forbidden Forest, time-weathered men and young boys would know to stay away."
"I can answer that, Your Dragon Godliness," stated Ruel, approaching with his peculiar weapon before explaining, "Near this forest is a charming little village known as Emelka. It was recently assailed by Polters, with most of the village, including my best friend and the adoptive father of Yugo here, being turned to shrubs. We're here to find out why, and to hopefully find a cure."
"It sounds like you've found your cause, Amalia," stated Vahn, turning his head to stare at Amalia with a smile.
"Well, I am sorry to hear about what happened to the village. And if the attack came from a forest, I need to investigate the cause as Princess of the Sadida Kingdom..." conceded Amalia, looking between Vahn and the glum Yugo. She could sense great power and purity within him. It wasn't on the same level as Vahn, but if she had never met the latter, Yugo might have had the purest soul she had ever sensed.
"Excellent," affirmed Vahn, nodding approvingly and taking a moment to caress Amalia's head with his right hand before returning his attention to Yugo and kneeling before the boy, bringing them to eye level. Then, with a calm, reassuring smile, he grasped Yugo's shoulders and stated, "Be at ease, young Yugo. Even if we are unable to find the cure you seek here, I will not allow your people to suffer or remain as shrubs. Once you've done what you need to do here, I will return with you to your village and return your father and people to their original forms. You have my word."
"You can do that...?" asked Yugo, blinking in surprise with a hint of awe in his expression.
"I am the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities..." hummed Vahn, raising his left hand to gently ruffle Yugo's hair through the fabric of his aquamarine hat as he said, "If it's something that can be imagined, I can accomplish it without fail."
"So we now have a God joining our cause? That's reassuring," remarked Ruel, crossing his arms and caressing his beard. He was half-tempted to ask if Vahn could realize his dream of infinite Kamas, but he concluded it was best to wait until things had calmed down and the current situation had been resolved.
"Ugh...what happened...?" emanated the voice of Percedal, drawing the group's gazes as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, grabbed his talking sword, and rose unsteadily to his feet.
"You got knocked out cold, oh Great Guardian of the Shushu—" mocked the sword, its tone layered with venom and amusement, and its crimson-lidded eyes bulging with glee.
"Knocked out? Me? In your dreams, Rubilax—you demenented paper weight...!" countered Percedal, smacking his sword against the tree his body had theretofore cratered. However, as all evidence of said crater had vanished, something Amalia had taken notice of, the only proof of Precedal's defeat was the accounts of everyone present.
"Sir Percedal," said Vahn, his calm yet authoritative voice cutting through the air, causing Percedal to blink in confusion before looking back at him and asking, "Do you know me?"
"I am the Dragon God, Vahn Mason," stated Vahn, spreading his Domain and producing a tremendous spiritual pressure via his Will of the Emperor as he warned, "I can appreciate the desire to challenge powerful foes to prove oneself, but actions have consequences. The next time you attack me unprovoked, I will not be treating your injuries."
"Ah...what is this feeling...?" Percedal asked himself, falling onto his butt as Vahn, at least from his perspective, towered over him like a giant to a bug. Even his sword, usually full of vitriol, had fallen completely silent, its eye fixed on Vahn with equal parts awe and horror. As an ancient Shushu, he had met other Gods. And while they possessed terrifying auras of their own, he had never felt anything like the energy Vahn was exuding...it was on a completely different level...
Retracting his oppressive aura as if it had never existed, Vahn returned his attention to Amalia, causing the dark-skinned Sadida to startle slightly as he freed her from her unblinking, awe-induced trance, stating, "Though he is young, I can sense tremendous potential in this young boy. Support him well, and you can be certain that the Sadida Kingdom will benefit from his association and friendship."
"Oh...yes...of course..." responded Amalia, looking from Vahn to Yugo with a slightly forced smile as she asked, "If it's alright with you, Sir Yugo, can Evangelyne and I accompany you on your quest?"
"O-Of course you can, Princess. We would appreciate all the help we can get," responded Yugo, feeling a little awkward as he had never seen a girl as pretty as Amalia. The fact that she was a Princess also had him reeling, but with a God—a Dragon God present—even his quest to save his father and the people of his village felt secondary in significance...
"Well, then, it's settled," said Ruel, proposing, "Now, how's about we get this little troupe of ours on the march? We aren't going to find out what's happening to the forest by standing around."
"I should also be going," stated Vahn, causing Amalia to startle and start to panic slightly as he explained, "I have other matters to attend, and it's clear to me this is your journey to undertake, not mine. However, if there is ever a threat you feel you can't overcome with your strength alone, my ear shall remain turned to this world. You need only to call out to me, and I will appear."
Before Amalia could beg him to remain, Vahn turned to her and placed his left hand on her head, smiling as he stated, "This is your world to protect and explore, Amalia Sheran Sharm. My presence would, sadly, hinder your growth. I will, however, leave you with a gift...not to mark our parting, but our eventual reunion..."
"A gift...?" repeated Amalia, her expression going from concern to wonder, her cheeks flushing as Vahn caressed the full length of her right arm with his left hand, guiding her to present her thicker-than-average wrist as he held her hand in his own. Then, with his right, he gently grabbed her wrist and materialized a wooden bangle fashioned to resemble a dragon coiling around it as he explained, "This will keep you safe and help draw out your latent potential. Use it well..."
"I can feel it...its energy is incredible..." muttered Amalia, holding her hand and the bangle to her chest with her head lowered and eyes closed. Vahn, by habit, gave her head another brief caress before proceeding to present the gifts to the rest of the group. To Yugo, he entrusted a pair of turquoise and white sneakers that would allow him to create temporary footholds in the air. To Eva, he gifted a pair of silver ear clasps designed to be used by Elves, enhancing her sense and increasing the rate at which her Dexterity stat would increase.
Though Percedal hadn't left the best impression on him, Vahn ultimately accepted the fiery-haired Iop's apology before presenting him with a pair of adjustable gravity training bracelets that would aid in the development of his Strength stat. To Ruel, he entrusted a gourd of wine produced from fruits and herbs that would replenish his waning vitality, restore his teeth, and regrow his hair. The man had initially requested money, but when he learned the effects of the wine and that the gourd itself converted liquid placed within into top-quality wine, he practically snatched it from Vahn's hand as if he was afraid the latter might change his mind...
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'What a charming little world...' thought Vahn, seated within his command theater and watching the scene of himself interacting with Amalia's group with his right hand on Gloria's increasingly shapely ass as she sucked him off. The ruddy-haired woman had developed the habit of seeking him out in his command theater, but he didn't mind as she fully immersed herself in the task of servicing him without speaking or breaking her stride unless spoken to.
(Are you sure you don't want to journey with them?) asked Sis, pointing out (They may be weak now, but with their setting being classified as A-Rank, it likely won't be long before they encounter foes that could destroy mountains or planets.)
'And when that day arrives, I may very well fight alongside them,' affirmed Vahn, sinking his middle and ring fingers into Gloria's pussy and habitually fingering her as he contended, 'If I were to travel with them as they are, I would completely invalidate most threats they came across. And with how forward she was acting, my presence would remain a constant distraction to Amalia, hampering her ability to grow closer and form bonds with those her fate was initially woven...'
(She's undoubtedly going to call upon you at every opportunity) noted Sis, causing Vahn to exhale faintly from his nose. He anticipated the same outcome, but by distancing himself from the get-go, Amalia would at least need to consider calling out to him. And the more she did, the more likely her allies were to point out that she was inconveniencing him.
With such thoughts in mind, Vahn watched as Amalia's group eventually reached a decaying area in the Forbidden Forest, where they confronted a giant, sapient tree with a face and arms—the Soft Oak. Vahn was curious to see how Amalia's group dealt with a foe that far surpassed their current levels, but things surprisingly concluded without a fight. Amalia was able to reach the Soft Oak and soothe its fury by mending its wounds with her Sadida powers. After that, the massive tree had its shadowy minions ferry the group back to Yugo's homely village, where they promptly returned all those who had been turned to plants back to their original forms...
'Oh...?'
Just as Vahn believed things were going to wrap up smoothly, a thin man with a bandaged body and features reminiscent of an automaton appeared among Amalia and her friends. The man had glowing blue eyes and ports in his chest, knees, and ankles that emitted the same blue energy. And on his left hand was an oversized gauntlet, from which a pulse was released that knocked everyone away from him before slowing the flow of time in a hemispherical area to a crawl.
'Is this one of the settings villains...?' Vahn wondered, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he gave Gloria's bottom a light smack, prompting her to raise her head and snuggle close to him with her gaze curiously sweeping the numerous displays forming a curved wall before Vahn. She knew from experience that a light smack to her butt was his way of telling her that he needed to focus, so she was curious to see what had caught his attention, her hand stroking his cock as she followed his gaze to a display showing a version of himself sending a man that looked like a machine flying...
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"What—where did you come from? And this power...you're no ordinary man..." remarked the man Vahn had sent flying, the sound of cogs and clockwork emanating from his body as he held his chest, cracked from Vahn's shove.
"And you are...?" asked Vahn, his expression and tone flat as he dispelled the temporal bubble that was causing Amalia, Eva, Yugo, Ruel, Percedal, and a burly man with a massive chef's hat resembling Yugo's to be flung backward in super slow motion.
"Vahn! You came...!" exclaimed Amalia, leaving Vahn at a brief loss for words as she abruptly rushed forward and hugged him—demonstrating an impressive lack of awareness.
fwsh
Taking advantage of the situation, the man Vahn had been staring down used short-range teleportation, his body disappearing and reappearing in a flash of pale blue as he swung a segmented sword resembling the hand of a clock.
"Uwah...impressive..." remarked the man, slanted shutters making his faux eyes appear angry as Vahn effortlessly grabbed him by his wrist, stopping his sword less than a centimeter from his neck. Then, with a squeeze, the disconcerting sound of bones breaking echoed throughout the area as he crushed the man's wrist like two dried twigs...
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