Caution
[Day 20]
As it was the most conspicuous spot on the island, Vahn, accompanied by Grayfia, found himself standing on the rim of the nearly 10km-tall volcano at its center.
"It doesn't look particularly welcoming, does it...?" asked Vahn, referring to a large, medieval-looking, obsidian-black castle protruding from a lake of broiling lava, its front entrance accessible via a long, precarious bridge. Most notably, like everything else on the island, it seemed to be scaled to accommodate giants rather than people.
"Shall I clear a path and roll out a red carpet~?" asked Grayfia, holding up her right hand with a sphere of pure, highly concentrated Demonic Power appearing above her palm.
With a wave of heat rising from the volcano's caldera, causing the air to briefly go from negative sixty to nearly 1200 degrees, Vahn squinted his eyes but otherwise had no reaction as he casually responded, "Let's not be hasty. There is a chance this is the abode of a future friend of ours, so let's be courteous."
"If that is Goshujin-sama's desire~" responded Grayfia, closing her hand and scattering the energy sphere, which could have leveled an entire city block if allowed to detonate.
"If we're discussing desires..." muttered Vahn, turning his head to stare back at Grayfia, modeling one of the skimpier versions of her Maid outfit, which included no top and frilly, black-and-white, crotchless panties. She wore comparably normal clothing when other people were present, but as it was just the two of them, she had no qualms about baring her all.
"Does Goshujin-sama see something he likes~?" questioned Grayfia, a faint blush tinting her playfully smiling expression when Vahn smoothly countered, "I see someone I love..."
Since he felt like doing so, Vahn approached, grasped Grayfia's bottom, and pulled her crotch snugly against his as he emphasized his words by giving her a protracted kiss. Then, with a playful smile of his own, he met her gaze and proposed, "Shall we see if this castle has a master or guest room we can make use of~?"
"The only thing I desire more is Goshujin-sama inside me at this very moment..." hummed Grayfia, prompting an immediate change in Vahn's plans. They still entered and explored the castle, just not at that exact moment...
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"This place should probably be off limits to anyone below B-Rank who doesn't have high Fire Resistance..." remarked Vahn, holding up his left hand to produce a barrier, blocking a highly pressurized stream of bright orange lava, unleashed by a five-meter-tall flaming hound with crimson skin, a thick mane that produced noxious black smoke, and fiery orange teeth and eyes. The monster, aptly called a Hellhound, was only C-Rank, but its ability to expel a seemingly endless amount of molten lava made it a problematic opponent in confined spaces like the castle's corridors.
Fortunately, while it could unleash multiple streams, the Hellhound could only maintain them for a few seconds before ostensibly needing to inhale to gather internal pressure. The moment it did, Vahn used his Legendary Spear, set with a frost-emanating spearhead that appeared to be carved from ice, to pierce the Hellhound's chest, causing a flower of ice to bloom and encompass its entire body.
With the Hellhound defeated, the lava expelled from its maw evaporated into motes of black and orange light, much like its body. In its wake, Vahn and Grayfia made their way over to find a dark red collar with a thin silver chain attached, prompting the former to raise his brows, smile, and muse, "I suppose it would make sense for a canine monster to drop a collar..."
Extending and drawing the collar to his right hand using his unique form of Telekinesis, Vahn's right brow rose further before he exhaled a chuckle, shook his head, and passed it off to Grayfia to inspect. Once she had, her silver eyes flashed as she commented, "This would make an excellent gift for Akeno-san. Though, I presume its effects would apply to any woman who has experienced Goshujin-sama's consideration..."
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[Crimson Collar of the Masochist]
Rank: C
P.Def: 60
M.Def: 110
Enchantment(s): [Pride of the Masochist(-)] [Pleasure Enhancement(C)], [Comfortable Fit(D)]
An enchanted collar specially crafted to be used in S&M play. When worn by those with masochistic tendencies, it drastically increases the amount of pleasure they experience at the hands of their Master. As a side-effect, it prevents self-gratification.
Special Properties: Can only be fastened and removed by the person the intended wearer recognizes as their Master. Charm +10
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"Mmm...I prefer your necks being bare..." remarked Vahn, causing Grayfia to raise her chin and close her eyes as he touched and caressed her neck with his left hand before burying his face into the space between her neck and left shoulder, kissing it.
"Goshujin-sama..." sighed Grayfia, her voice tinged with heat and passion as she was reminded of the past—when they were alone with no restraint or inhibitions between them.
high-pitching whining
Accompanied by a sound akin to fireworks being launched, several fiery bats barreled toward Vahn and Grayfia at high speed. Vahn noticed them and was prepared to act, but before he had the chance, Grayfia raised her left hand behind him and released an invisible wave that caused the bats to briefly freeze in place before dropping to the floor dead.
'Instant Death Magic...' noted Vahn, returning his attention to Grayfia's neck and grabbing her waist. The thought they were hardly making any progress crossed his mind, but if he had to choose between exploring an oven-like castle and attending to the needs of the mother of his children, he would choose the latter 99.999% of the time...
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Though it took considerably longer than it should have, Vahn and Grayfia eventually found themselves in an antechamber with two massive, highly ornate stone doors, each approximately twenty meters tall with the fiery-eyed visage of a dragon protruding from their surface.
"This is a Boss door if I've ever seen one..." remarked Vahn, craning his head back to look up at the dragon's visage embossed on its surface, finding it strangely...familiar. He was sure he had never seen it before, but something about it resonated with him...
Reaching out with his right hand to touch the door's surprisingly cool surface, Vahn was made to tense when a notification window appeared before him.
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[Third Trial: Laevateinn's Embrace]
Absolute power is such that it consumes or subsumes all else. Thus, to stand at the pinnacle, one must have the capacity to destroy but the self-restraint not to. Creation and Destruction are two sides of the same coin, and while it may be the nature of flames to consume, it is within them that blades are forged—and from the ashes produced in their wake, new life is allowed to sprout and grow.
[////Warning!////]
Beyond these doors lies the Blade or Promise, Lævateinn, and countless false blades forged by a blacksmith forgotten to creation. The yearning of these blades to consume will unleash inextinguishable flames that will not abate until the true Lævateinn is found.
[////Warning!////]
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"Inextinguishable flames...my intuition tells me we shouldn't open this door if we want to continue exploring this Floor in peace..." remarked Vahn, picturing a scene of flames pouring out of the door or the volcano outside erupting, sweeping across the island and consuming everything in its path. The island's layout and the volcano's position at its exact center were too conspicuous for nothing to occur...
"Indeed..." affirmed Grayfia, offering a slight nod as she contended, "If the previous Floor drew inspiration from Niflheim, there is a fair chance this one could come to denote Muspelheim, the Realm of Eternal Flame. Though, if I remember correctly, Lævateinn is a twining wand carved and wielded by Loki. It is said that during the time of Ragnarok, the twig-like blade will be used to deal the final blow to Vedrfolnir, the bird that nests between the brows of Hræsvelgr, a Primordial Wind God who governs the changing of seasons and sits atop the World Tree, Yggdrasil."
"But that's only the case in the world you originate..." remarked Vahn, his eyes narrowing as he retracted his hand from the door and stated, "Here within the Corridor, it is evidently linked to perennially burning flames and, if I'm interpreting the text of the trial correctly, rebirth..."
"That does appear to be the case..." confirmed Grayfia, offering a second nod before falling silent with her eyes closed and hands resting atop her abdomen, having noticed that Vahn was deep in thought and not wanting to disturb him.
"Alright, since we know this is the location of the Third Trial, we'll close it off for the time being and return to it once the rest of the island has been thoroughly explored," decided Vahn, curious to learn what lay beyond the two doors but not so much that he was willing to inconvenience or imperil those currently exploring the Floor. There was also an assortment of flora and fauna that showed signs of being genuinely alive, and he would prefer not to see them destroyed because of his carelessness.
"Then, once Goshujin-sama's curiosity has been satisfied, I will prepare a barrier that should prevent others from accessing this place, intentionally or otherwise," stated Grayfia.
"Excellent..." said Vahn, adopting a broad smile as he met Grayfia's silvery gaze with slightly narrowed eyes and an appreciative smolder. There was still much of the obsidian-black castle they had yet to explore, including a complex, magma-themed dungeon that seemed to permeate the entirety of the supervolcano, so they spent the remainder of the day investigating before simply declaring the region around it off-limits...
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[Day 69]
After establishing it as a kind of tradition during the previous Tower cycle, Vahn spent much of his 69th day in the Tower with various girls seated on his face, allowing him to commit their scents to memory and eat them out as they took turns sucking him off or making out as one woman sat on his face and another rode his dick. Near the end, he was blindfolded and told not to use his domain after Rias grew curious regarding his capacity to tell them apart, but even with several additional handicaps, the only pussy he guessed incorrectly was one he genuinely didn't recognize, belonging to a recently contracted First-Grade Maid named Jo, originating from an anime called Bakuretsu Tenshi. Vahn didn't mind too much, as he found Jo's cool persona, lithe body, short and feathery silver-grey hair, crimson eyes, and notably bubbly butt very appealing, but it was more than a little jarring to learn he had been eating out a woman he had only ever spoken to on two occasions before subsequently claiming her virginity...
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[Day 120]
With the Tower's fourth cycle drawing toward its conclusion, Vahn sat with a contented smile at a long table overlooking a crowded banquet hall. Sona had put forth the idea of hosting a festival and the usual end-of-cycle banquet within the Corridor, so rather than just those who were entrenched on the 1st Floor, Ascendees from all Floors had convened to drink, feast, and make merry. Another idea was to host the feast back at the palace, but since there were a few too many hoops they would have to jump through, and Vahn didn't want to overwhelm the Sisters, he made the executive decision to host it within the Corridor.
"It's a shame our pregnancies didn't progress while we were inside the Tower..." remarked Rias, drawing Vahn's attention to the conversation she and her mother were having immediately to his right. He was also keen to see their bellies gradually inflate, but since their bodies aged in real-time in comparison to the Tower's accelerated flow, their pregnancies had only progressed by around eight hours. This was objectively advantageous, as it gave them ample time and opportunity to nurture their coming children, but it also implied that unless they skipped a few cycles, they would have to endure being pregnant for forty-five rather than nine months...
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