Togetherness

[October 30th DxD/June 23rd DBT]

After two days of leisure, Vahn spent the final few hours until the Tower's opening at Jack-O's and Dizzy's cottage with Lupheria in tow, the four of them enjoying a hearty meal together before settling in on the living room sofa to cuddle and watch movies. He had made arrangements for Jack-O and Dizzy to enter the Tower, but since Lupheria was much too young, he eventually placed her in bed and remained at her side until she had fallen into a deep sleep, aided by his A-Rank Petting Skill.

'I hope she gets along with her brothers and sisters because she's going to have a lot of them...' mused Vahn, sliding up Lupheria's bangs to kiss her forehead before carefully leaving her bed and returning to Jack-O and Dizzy downstairs.

"Alright, unless a meteor crashes in through the ceiling, she isn't waking up within the next eight hours," stated Vahn, habitually caressing Dizzy's head as she had a habit of holding it at the perfect angle to provoke him into doing so.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to hold out, not seeing us for a full four months~?" asked Jack-O, sporting a playful smile and modeling her exceptionally tantalizing white bodysuit. Thankfully, Dizzy wasn't wearing her skirted bodice, large sleeve, and black panty combo, but she was still bound to garner significant attention in form-fitting, black, yoga-like pants and a deep-cut, black-and-white top with belted sleeves and a flared gap at the front that exposed her belly button.

"I'm definitely going to miss you both..." affirmed Vahn, his voice low as he gestured for Jack-O to come closer with his right hand, leading to her stepping into his embrace, allowing him to hug both her and Dizzy. For a brief moment, the urge to cup and caress her bottom nearly overwhelmed him, but he managed to resist it and preserve the sanctity and tenderness of the moment.

"It is nearly time..." muttered Dizzy, wishing to prolong the moment but eager to enter the Tower and take the first steps on her path to becoming stronger alongside her adoptive mother.

"Alright, you two...take care of one another..." said Vahn, weakening his hold on the two girls to give Jack-O a lingering peck on the lips before turning to Dizzy, raising her bangs as he had for Lupheria, and planting a second kiss on her forehead. She surprised him with a reciprocatory kiss on the cheek, but he just smiled and caressed her head until each of them received a notification asking if they would like to enter the Tower...

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[Day 2]

After hosting a banquet to welcome the newest batch of Ascendees to the 1st Floor, Vahn waited a day to give them a chance to acclimate and explore before making himself available for consultation.

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Following Mikoto, sporting a Maid outfit, opening the door to his office, Vahn was greeted by the sight of a tall, curvaceous woman with bright pink eyes, long, billowy, free-flowing blonde hair that extended past her waist, and notably mint green and sunflower yellow highlights. Her outfit was rather revealing, further emphasizing her physique, and consisted of largely lavender-hued material, dark red and black gloves with a distinctly Eastern design, lavender boots that rose past her knees, a belt-strap top that was more like a bra with crisscrossing straps across her body, and a notably short skirt that barely covered more than a third of her thighs, the left of which was bound in four crisscrossing black belts that somehow adhered to her skin instead of sliding as she moved.

Though he had largely stopped perusing anime and manga related to Ascendees to spare himself the pressure and anxiety of having to worry about what was transpiring in each world, Vahn recognized the woman from his brief review of every Ascendees profile, allowing him to smile and state, "Lord Milla Maxwell, welcome. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I wished to behold the countenance of one who refers to himself as a Dragon God," revealed Milla, one of the central protagonists of a video game series called Tales of Xillia. She was also one of two Spirit Lords in her world, a presently weakened but God-like entity who held dominion over the Four Great Elemental Spirits: Efreet, Undeen, Sylph, and Gnome.

"That's a simple enough request," responded Vahn, rising to his feet and turning his face from side to side with a smile as he asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Nodding, Millia affirmed, "You certainly possess the qualities of one who transcends even the Great Spirits. I have never before sensed such pure and pleasant Mana. I would liken it to basking in the sun's rays on a cool Spring day..."

"Thanks for the compliment," responded Vahn, smiling and taking a seat, prompting Milla to do the same. Due to the shortness of her skirt, it rode up a bit, revealing the front of her pastel lavender panties, but only briefly as she crossed her right leg over her left, crossed her arms in a way that emphasized her breasts, and appended, "I apologize, for there is another matter I would trouble you with. Rather, it is the reason I came here in the first place."

"No need to apologize," countered Vahn, shaking his head and adopting a marginally broader smile as he appended, "When you're ready, I will hear what you have to say and give it the consideration it is due."

"You have my sincerest gratitude..." responded Milla, placing her right hand over her heart in a way that saw her wrist nestle into her cleavage as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. She appeared to have no awareness of how distracting her actions could be, but Vahn managed to appear calm and dignified as she raised her head, opened her eyes, and regaled him with the tale of her past, how she had been separated from the Four Great Spirits, and how she had temporarily allied with an aspiring Doctor named Jude to escape a military research complex which she had been investigating as a result of many Spirits perishing, leaving the world itself to slowly wither and die. As for her request, she sought the Dragon's Pavilion's aid in reclaiming the Four Great Elemental Spirits and ending the Kingdom of Rashugal's reckless, patently evil ambitions. In exchange, she was willing to give them everything...

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[Day 19]

With two days passing without any clients, Vahn decided it was time to continue his exploration of the Corridor or, more accurately, the Abyssal Maw. Instead of entering alone, however, he materialized on the island's largest white sand beach with a rather expansive retinue to increase the efficiency of harvesting Origina Points, including Grayfia, Venelana, Rias, Sona, Ravel, Akeno, Tsubaki, Koneko, Asia, Xenovia, Roxanne, Korra, Erza, Lisanna, Milla, and, after much consideration, Kunou, Riko, Fran, Tanya, Mikoto, Touma, Colette, Felt, Subaru, Kazuma, Lalatina(Darkness), Yoko, Simon, and many more who had taken up residence on the Tower's 1st Floor or become affiliates of the Dragon's Pavilion.

"Alright, as was explained previously, the monsters here are far stronger than those you encountered on the 1st Floor of the Tower," stated Vahn, standing atop a small stage prepared by Grayfia, allowing him to be seen by and address the thirty-nine people gathered for the exploration.

"That said, greater challenges mean greater rewards, so don't be afraid to take calculated risks," appended Vahn. "The Dragon's Pavilion will prepare a centralized safe zone, lodgings, and relaxation facilities, so once you've had your fill of exploration, you can return here on foot or utilizing Return Crystals. We will set up a large Waypoint Crystal here and smaller ones at any Checkpoints discovered."

Following Vahn's words, demonstrating the capabilities of the Dragon's Pavilion, Grayfia, Venelana, Rias, Sona, and Ravel combined their efforts to erect a large, pre-prepared lodge-style resort with white walls and an expansive seaside pool. The Abyssal Maw had a distinct tropical setting and climate, so the minority of the males present had already discarded their shirts and upper armor, and many of the females had changed into bikini tops, tank tops, or sports bras, so the pool was prepared as a safe alternative to swimming in the kaiju-filled sea beyond.

After drawing everyone's gazes back to him with a crisp, reverberating clap of his hands, Vahn's smile broadened as he stated, "If you want to treat this as a vacation, feel free. Just know that if you make any major or important discoveries, the rewards will be worth the effort and risk. With that, I wish each of you the best of luck."

Finished with what he had to say, Vahn disembarked the stage via the stairs on its left side. As he did, Riko, carrying an oversized pickaxe and modeling her backless Delver outfit without the jacket, approached him with Tanya, Kunou, and Colette. The four notably blonde girls had formed an official Party dubbed the Golden Quartet, so Vahn was unsurprised to see them together, smiling as they approached.

"Did the four of you need something from me...?" asked Vahn.

"I was just curious about something," started Riko, sporting a smile of her own as she clarified, "Since you said this place isn't in the Tower, would it be possible to have Nanachi and Mitty come here from the Tutorial Floor? It would be a good opportunity to improve our teamwork before we delve into the 5th Layer of the Abyss."

"It's possible..." affirmed Vahn, nodding. After the tremendous favor she had done for them, Nanachi and Mitty readily agreed to aid Riko and Reg in tracking down the former's mother and uncovering the secrets of their world's Abyss. Since they basically had the strength of children, however, Riko delayed their expedition and used nearly all of her savings to secure the duo's entry into the Tower, affording them four months to grow much, much stronger before they proceeded into the Abyss's depths.

"That's great! They're already waiting together in Nanachi's room, so if you could bring them here, I would really appreciate it~!" chimed Riko, a broad smile adorning her face. Her confidence had grown tremendously after getting her hands on her mother's signature weapon, the explosion-producing pickaxe, Blaze Reap, and though her height hadn't increased as much as she would have liked, her biceps and shoulders were beginning to gain a hint of definition from swinging around the pickaxe for hours at a time.

"Alright, then," responded Vahn, taking a moment to caress Riko's head, causing her to narrow her eyes and smile even more radiantly before he had Sis transport Nanachi and Mitty over. The latter briefly pounced on him when she was summoned, causing Nanachi to develop a slight pout due to them having officially become boyfriend and girlfriend, but it only lasted until Vahn caressed the rabbit-like Narehate's head and everyone else's in turn...

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'If I hadn't already faced down much larger Sea Kings, this would be terrifying...' thought Vahn, floating above and holding the gaze of a large reptilian, serpent-esque creature with azure blue scales and sharp spines on its back, yellowish scales on his belly, a vaguely draconic visage, and muscular limbs tipped with vicious claws and webbing. It was easily more than 200m long, but considering there were Sea Kings that exceeded 5km in length, it seemed cute in comparison.

As if it understood that Vahn was extraordinarily dangerous, the large sea creature didn't lunge at him. Instead, as the former floated a few meters above it in the Abyssal Maw's encompassing sea, it eventually sank, very slowly, into the dark depths it had emerged from. Fortunately for it, Vahn found its caution and implied intelligence extremely interesting, so since it had picked self-preservation over conflict, he cupped his right fist with his left hand, closed his eyes, and offered the vanishing creature a slight bow before rising to the surface where a large yacht helmed by Jack-O and a black bikini-clad Dizzy awaited with a towel...

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(A/N: I've had some unplanned medical expenses these past two months, so if you're enjoying the story and would like to see it continue, please consider becoming a Patron or donating to my Paypal at paypal.me/einlion. I would greatly appreciate it.)