Barring Passage

Following the hasty departure of the two Princesses, Vahn and Co resumed their journey through the Name Hunt Station, a venture that sequentially brought them to an arena-like antechamber connected to what appeared to be an escalator. There, a seemingly young man with brown skin, ashen-white hair, and peculiar white eyes could be seen standing next to a blonde woman with a pixie cut.

Noticing the katana and wakizashi fastened to the youth's hip, combined with his kimono-like garb, Vahn couldn't help but raise his brows slightly, musing, "You must be Arie Inieta, the man known as the Sword Genius and the 'Strongest of the Ten Bosses'..."

With what appeared to be an innocent smile, so long as you ignored the unhinged glimmer in his eyes, Inieta perked up quite a bit upon hearing Vahn's words. He didn't consider himself a braggart, but, whenever someone mentioned his titles, even sarcastically, it always made him a little happy.

Feeling the youth's Sword Intent sharpen considerably, a hint of a smile spread across Vahn's lips as he directed his gaze to the woman 'blocking' the escalator, adding, "And that makes you Lo Po Bia Alphine, daughter of Alisaie and descendent of the Shadow Fox Tribe..."

Though she had heard rumors about Vahn's ability to 'read minds', Alphine couldn't help but feel a little unnerved hearing him mention her mother out of nowhere. As for Inieta, the only thing on his mind was that he had found a strong opponent, his expression becoming a caricature reminiscent of childish glee as he unsheathed his sword and remarked, "I've never killed an Emperor before. I'm really looking forward to seeing how powerful you really are."

Unable to contain himself, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he gestured for the girls to stand down. He was still feeling a little bothered by what had happened in the underground, so, with Inieta showing a fair amount of promise, he wanted to personally test the youth. He could feel a remarkable Sword Intent exuding from the latter, so, with the teachings of the Main Family denied to him, Vahn was curious to see what kind of swordsmanship Inieta had developed over the last six hundred years.

With this intent driving his actions, Vahn began to take a few casual steps forwards, hands behind his back as a relaxed smile spread across his face. This caused Inieta to frown deeply, and, though he didn't understand the reason, he instinctively leaped back to create some distance, sword raised in a defensive posture.

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn took another step forward as he said, "It is apparent that your skills have been refined through actual combat...it's a shame you are so fond of killing. I would have liked to take you on as my disciple..."

Immediately following this statement, Vahn looked over his shoulder to see a massive orange fox manifesting from the void and attempting to step on his shadow. Before it could, his figure turned into a blur, startling both the fox and its owner as he appeared next to it and said, "Lay down." in a commanding tone.

As if it was compelled by some instinct, the inordinately large fox immediately lowered its head to the ground, allowing Vahn to caress its snout as he added, "I have a soft spot for creatures related to foxes and wolves...don't make me hurt you..."

Though she was utterly gobsmacked by the strange turn of events, Alphine was able to recover relatively quickly, her expression growing stern as she gestured with her hand and shouted, "Kill him...!" in a shaky yet decisive tone.

Under normal circumstances, the Shadow Fox would have unhesitantly obeyed without even a moment of consideration for itself. It couldn't actually be killed under normal circumstances, so, even if its opponent was much stronger, it wouldn't be afraid. Against Vahn, however, its instincts told it that the only outcome was the death of both itself and its master. This caused it to release a rather pitiable whining sound, its eyes becoming slightly moist as it stared back at Alphine without raising its head.

While Alphine was confused beyond belief, Vahn, with a smile on his face, began to scratch one of the fox's sweet spots as he took the initiative to explain, "It seems your Shadow Fox is pretty loyal. It doesn't want you to die, so it is refusing to follow your orders. What a good girl~."

Hearing Vahn's words, combined with his surprisingly comfortable petting, the Shadow Fox began to lightly beat its tail against the ground while, a few meters behind, Fenrir, Ryun, and even Mash could be seen with deadpan expressions on their faces...

Having never experienced anything like this before, Alphine was at a complete loss for words as she saw her most trusted companion inevitably roll onto its back, presenting its belly for Vahn to freely caress. This caused her to feel strangely embarrassed, a trace of red bleeding into her cheeks when she heard Inieta curiously inquire, "I've never heard of anyone taming a Shinheuh belonging to an Anima. Is this normal?"

Realizing she wasn't going to get anywhere using her Shadow Fox, Alphine attempted to recall it back to its Bowl. Instead, her face became even redder as a feminine voice sounded in her mind, exclaiming, ("I don't wanna...!") like a child refusing to give up its candy.

With the Law of Identity providing narration, Vahn couldn't help but laugh in response to Alphine's plight. This was the scary thing about the Law of Petting, as, even without Skills like [Subjugation], it provided him a near-absolute advantage against anything he personally identified as pettable. This put the Shadow Fox in a rather precarious position, as, with the exception of Vanargandr, Vahn had always found foxes, and those with their traits, to be among the most pettable beings in all Records.

Unfortunately, he still had other things to take care of, so, after scratching under the Shadow Fox's chin, he ultimately retracted his hand and said, "Return to your Master. If her face gets any redder, I'm afraid she might pass out..."

Though it showed a considerable amount of reluctance, the Shadow Fox ultimately returned to its feet before sinking into the shadows and reappearing behind the red-faced Alphine. She actually looked rather striking with a blush on her face, but, rather than pointing it out, Vahn just smiled as he shifted his attention back to Inieta and remarked, "I half-expected you to try and attack while I was 'distracted'..."

Amused by Vahn's words, a boyish giggle escaped Inieta's throat as he removed his sword from his shoulder and said, "I thought about it. It's just that, every time I tried to attack, my instincts told me not to. You must be a real monster."

Rather than refuse the label, Vahn casually nodded in response to Inieta's words before resuming his slow march forward. This time, however, Inieta didn't run away. Instead, a resolute gleam flashed across his peculiar white eyes as he pressed forward and traced his katana in a beautiful arc.

Without so much as a single change in his expression, Vahn met Inieta's attack with his bare hand, catching the blade between his thumb, index, and middle fingers. This caused the youth's eyes to widen considerably, but, rather than back down, he attempted to use the leverage of the hold to plant both of his feet squarely in the former's groin.

Though it wouldn't have caused any damage, Vahn wasn't particularly fond of getting kicked in his nether region. Thus, using the leverage Inieta had generated against him, he sidestepped the boy's feet while shifting the blade back with his bare hands and smashing the unsuspecting prodigy into the ground.

Despite a distressed gasp escaping his throat, Inieta's hold on his sword never once slackened. This was rather commendable, but, with the blade tip firmly clasped in Vahn's hand, it also put him at a rather severe disadvantage. After all, even a light tap to the end of a sword could drastically alter its trajectory, so, with his admittedly ridiculous strength, Vahn had full control of Inieta's movements so long as the latter refused to let go of his sword.

Demonstrating this, Vahn lifted the white-haired swordsman from the ground, raising him high over his head before smashing him down a second time. At no point throughout this process did Inieta ever consider letting go of his sword. Instead, a determined fire continued to burn resolutely in his eyes, even as blood began to stain his pure white hair and clothes.

Nodding his head in approval, Vahn released his hold on Inieta's sword. This revealed that the blade tip had been horribly mangled, but, as if it was the sharpest weapon in the entire cosmos, Inieta still charged forward as if his opportunity had finally presented itself. To his surprise, Vahn greeted this attack with one of his own, his figure seemingly becoming translucent as he made a cutting motion with his hand and passed through Inieta's body like a phantom.

Appearing as though he had been frozen in time, Inieta paused mid-strike in response to Vahn's movement. His eyes had widened to the extreme, and, though he couldn't fully process what had just happened, he understood it was a form of swordsmanship that greatly exceeded his own. Thus, even when a massive gash opened across his chest, accompanied by a shower of blood, he couldn't help but smile as he fell forward, uttering, "Amazing..." as the light disappeared from his eyes.

Without turning to face the collapsed swordsman, the corners of Vahn's smile curled upward as he manifested the Little Garden and pulled the man inside. At the same time, he directed his gaze to the now-stoic Alphine, asking, "Are we going to continue with this farce, or will you guide the way obediently...?"

Realizing that his questions might be intended to prime his targets and make them easier to read, Alphine responded to Vahn's words by pulling out a knife and unhesitantly stabbing herself in the heart, saying, "I will never betray Kaiser..." as she fell forward. This left the latter with a moderately incredulous look on his face, an expression that gradually morphed into a wry smile as he scratched his cheek and muttered, "Did she forget about my ability to revive people...? I'm pretty sure that is the thing I'm most famous for at the present..."

Shaking his head, a peculiar green aura veiled the surroundings as Vahn began to reverse the order of entropy, effectively reversing time. As a result, the blood from Alphine's wound quickly returned to her body before she ultimately came to stand upright, 'sheathing' the dagger in her hand before adopting a horrified expression as he allowed the flow of time to return to normal.

Though he always felt strangely guilty about reversing time in such a manner, Vahn wasn't going to allow Alphine to kill herself over a misunderstanding. Thus, rather than afford her a second attempt, he forced her to remain stationary as he explained, "I'm not going to steal your name and make you into my servant. If I cared about such things, why would I allow some of the Ten Bosses to flee after liberating all of the Regulars in the Unnamed Residential Area? I would have thought my intentions were pretty obvious at this point..."

With her freedom returned immediately following Vahn's explanation, Alphine momentarily lost her balance due to her efforts at trying to break free from his unique form of Reverse Flow Control. This caused a ruddy hue to return to her cheeks, as, moments prior to her meeting with the ground, an invisible force wrapped around her body, returning her to a standing position as Vahn continued to smile wryly from his initial position.

Feeling uncharacteristically bashful, Alphine quickly smoothed out the creases of her form-fitting orange dress before fixing her hair and asking, "What, exactly, is your purpose? Are you acting at the behest of an organization or are you doing all of this for...personal reasons...?"

With Alphine briefly shifting her attention to the woman standing behind him, Vahn didn't need the Law of Identity to understand what she was thinking. This caused a dry laugh to emanate from his throat, and, though he understood why, it made him feel awkward whenever someone assumed he was aiming to collect beautiful women...

Seemingly misunderstanding the reason for his awkward laughter, Alphine's expression hardened as she went on to ask, "Do you understand how and why Kaiser became the Ruler of this backward place? At this rate, you are bound to provoke more than just the Lo Po Bia Family. The Name Hunt Station is an important lo-"

Raising his hand, Vahn interrupted Alphine's explanation by plainly stating, "None of that matters. I am not acting to oppose the interests of the Ten Great Families. I honestly don't give a damn about the vast majority of them. All I know is that a place like this simply shouldn't exist. To that end, I will do everything in my power to destroy it. There is no greater meaning or intent behind my actions. I just don't like this place. Any more questions...?"

Not expecting such a 'childish' reason, Alphine found herself at a loss for words, lips parted ever-so-slightly as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. This afforded Vahn the opportunity to respond with a curt nod, seemingly in response to his own words, before crossing his hands behind his back and adding, "Well then...lead the way..."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Instantaneous defeat...','No-sword-style secret technique...knife-hand!','Vahn is slowly becoming a shonen protagonist...!?')

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