Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-260

Arriving outside Hestia's room, Vahn knocked on the door to announce his presence before entering into the room. He saw Hestia at her desk writing on a large scroll before she looked back with an encouraging smile while a touch of sadness was present in her eyes. Remembering her earlier actions, Vahn smiled and said, "Thank you, Hestia...I didn't know what to do at the time. Preasia...she isn't like anyone I've ever had to deal with before." Putting down the quill, Hestia hopped out of her chair and walked over to her bed before sitting down and saying, "Come here Vahn."

Vahn's fierce expression eased a bit as he released a sigh and walked over to the bed and sat down next to Hestia. She scooched back on the bed before patting her thighs, indicating for Vahn to use her legs as a lap pillow. Though he didn't understand what she was trying to do, Vahn accepted her offer since, of all the goddess and girls he had been with, Hestia had the most inexplicably soft body. Since they slept together a lot, Vahn always felt comfortable whenever they were in contact so he gladly accepted the lap pillow.

Hestia stroked his hair for a bit before asking, "Vahn, what is it you want to do right now? Tell me the truth..." Her gentle words and soothing tone caused Vahn to relax his mind a bit as he responded, "I want to make him pay...I want the person that hurt Preasia to suffer..." Hestia caressed the side of Vahn's face and looked into his eyes as she asked softly, "Will that make you happy?" The simple words caused Vahn to blank for a moment as he stared into her clear, lake-like blue eyes that seemed to contain an infinite depth to them.

After a few seconds of silence, Vahn responded in a muted tone, "No..." Nodding her head a bit, Hestia's expression changed into a gentle smile as she asked, "If you could let Preasia hurt that man to her heart's content, would you stand at the side and watch her?" Her words caused Vahn to frown as he tried to picture the delicate looking Preasia using a hot skewer on another person and carving words into someone else's flesh. Gritting his teeth for a moment, Vahn responded in a quieter tone than before, "No...I would try to stop her...she shouldn't be-"

Before Vahn could continue, Hestia placed her index finger on his lips to halt his words. Vahn closed his mouth and had a sad look on his face before Hestia continued, "It isn't your burden to bear everything Vahn...can you tell me names of everyone you're currently trying to protect?" Vahn thought for a few moments before muttering, "Haruhime, Eina, Tina, Milan, Lili..." Before he could continue, Hestia silenced his words again and said, "People often list the names of people by the priority they place on them in their minds...even though you empathize with Preasia and want to do something for her, the actions you want to take are things you'd prevent her from doing. You also have so many things that you want to protect...now isn't the time for vengeance. You need to relax and focus on taking care of the people around you while we do our best to take care of you. Preasia is already safe...let her recover a bit and then you can worry about the matters of her past later. Right now, our Familia is caught between the Isthar Familia and the Entertainment District as a whole...Please remember your own priorities and stop getting caught up in every little moment..."

For more than a minute after her words faded, Vahn continued to lay in silence as Hestia stroked his hair gently. Since he hadn't said anything for a while, Hestia whispered in a soothing tone, "Take a nap Vahn...rest for a bit...you've worked hard. I'll wake you when the others show up...for now, just sleep..." Vahn listened to Hestia's words and slowly closed his eyes while enjoying the soft sensation of her thighs and the calming sensation of her hands. It wasn't the first time he had been told to slow down and relax, but the words seemed to have a bit more of an impact when they came from Hestia. Since she was often lazing around, it was somewhat rare for her to be the one tending to others...Vahn suddenly began to feel very tired as the tensions slowly drained from his body until he eventually fell asleep.

Hestia continued to stroke Vahn's hair while gently caressing his face. She stared down at his sleeping expression from above with a profoundly gentle look on her face and a hint of concern in her eyes. He looked so gentle and innocent while he was asleep...nothing like the decisive and heroic boy that he acted like when he was awake. She wished that they could just stay here in this moment forever, just the two of them sitting in silence. It hardly made sense to her how a boy so young could bear so many burdens willingly and continue striving so hard to meet the expectations of others. Hestia knew she also relied on him quite a bit, even though she only pestered him when they were at home...

Looking back toward the scroll, Hestia could see several lines of writing appear before floating off the page and falling into a small journal-like book next to it. It was a magical item called a 'Record Logbook' and could be parented to a communication scroll to record everything that had been transmitted and received. Earlier, before Vahn had knocked on her door, Hestia had gotten word from Eina about several murders that had taken place late last night.

The Guild had gone to investigate the residences of the various men and women that patronized the illegal slave trafficker. Though not always the case, a great number of the residences had been the sight of grisly murders. Because Eina had already met Preasia, she had checked the information about her prior owner and had found the man amongst the list of casualties. Hestia was afraid that Vahn, having lost the outlet for his emotions, would have struggled to cope with the situation. Hestia would much rather he forget about the matter entirely for the time being...

-Several Hours Prior- (A/N: BTW, serious trigger warning. This section contains very graphic themes and isn't suitable for those with fragile sensibilities. You won't miss much, if any, of the story by skipping this part of the chapter.)

Having separated from the boy that saved her life, Shiva made her way through the back alleys of the red light district before crossing through the northern section of the City where the homes of various wealthy businessmen resided. Because of her actions against her would be masters, Shiva had been traded around by several men due to the exotic nature of her body. Even under the slave crest, she was able to resist the pain and fight against the vile men that saw her as an object to be possessed to fulfill their own desires.

One of the clients, the one responsible for her losing the ability to speak, had been the same man that was the previous owner of Preasia. She had been purchased by him several weeks after he got his monstrous hands on the petite girl and had seen the devastation wrought on her body. Because the man had an elitist complex and thought himself to be of a 'superior' status to Preasia, he tormented her body and treated her like an animal to feed his sadistic urges. The only thing that kept him from raping her was the fact that he considered the action 'beneath' him. Of course, this didn't stop him from using her to tend to some of his other needs as he forcibly trained her body to respond to his presence lest she faces a severe punishment.

When Shiva had arrived at his small mansion, he tried making her do the same actions as the pitiable girl while also insulting her for being of a 'lesser' species even though he was just human. Resisting the compulsion of the slave crest, the moment the vile man put his penis into her mouth, Shiva tried to gnash her teeth to tear off the disgusting member. Unfortunately, due to the resistance of the crest, she was prevented from completing the act and her brain had nearly been fried as a result. After beating her body severely, the man ended up returning both she and Preasia to the slave trader while demanding compensation in the form of 'higher quality' slaves.

Though Shiva never saw the girl that he purchased, if Vahn was there he would have recognized both the girl and the 'gentleman' as the people he had seen when he first entered the brokerage. Even though he looked like a kindly middle-aged man, he was actually a cruel and sadistic human being that sought pleasure in the suffering of others. When she and Preasia had been returned, they used some expensive medicine to help heal her body while scrubbing down Preasia with various ointments and medicines to try and hide her scars. Only an hour or so after their return, they were forced to meet their new prospective 'master' and eventually met Vahn...

Thinking back about the gentle-natured boy, Shiva couldn't help but feel grateful for his actions that led to her freedom. She was, in fact, nearly a Level 4 and had been a prisoner of war between two conflicting tribes within the Land of no Sun. After being humiliated, she was sold to the nearby City of Orario and had met several different masters before finally being liberated by Vahn's kindness. Now, Shiva was determined to slaughter the fools that treated her as a commodity to be traded amongst themselves. She would butcher them all before leaving the City and getting revenge against the clansman that tarnished her honor as a proud Dark Elf Huntress.

Stepping into the home of her most recent master, Shiva sneakily made her way through the corridors before finding her way to the secret entrance that led down to the dungeon where the man kept his slaves imprisoned. Because of his 'superiority' complex, the man had more than a dozen slaves of different races that had all been severely mistreated. His current purchase looked to be a young human girl with blue hair and an already blank expression on her face. Her body was covered in several wounds and she was forcibly bound to a wooden table that contorted her body into whatever shape suited the man. Since she was human, the old man was forcibly raping the girl with a mad and sadistic expression on his face as Shiva sneaked up behind him quieter than the night.

The man was so lost in the act that he didn't react at all as a knife passed through his lower back and severed part of his spine. He immediately slipped out of the poor girl and fell to the ground with an agonized shriek as he stared at his attacker with a crazed expression and shouted, "Yooooouuuu! Y-y-you vile sow! How dare a disgusting animal like you attack me!?" Not offended by the man's words, Shiva showed a cruel and sadistic smile that could give the man's a run for his money. She played with the dagger in her hands as she walked forward slowly...

Fearing for his life, the man tried to desperately crawl away from his assailant as he cried out for one of his servants or guards to save him. Unfortunately, he had made a concerted effort to completely soundproof his own dungeon to keep it concealed. Now, while his guards earnestly protected his property, he would be at Shiva's mercy until she finally thought it was time to send him on his way to Hades.

After reaching a wall, the man could go no further and turned backed to stare at the trail of blood that had been left by his own body. His gangly, aged, legs were covered in the filth and blood that covered the floor of the dungeon as he stared into the cold eyes of Shiva and muttered in a pleading voice, "P-p-please don't do this...I'll give you money, anything, just leave this place. I-I-I'll never tell anyone about this if y-y-you just walk away!"

Shiva brandished the knife in her hands and admired the blood covering the blade as she smelled it. After taking a whiff, she had a frown on her face as she scrunched up her nose and retorted, "What a foul smell odor...are you really a man? Why does your blood smell closer to that of a goblin...eeeeei, look, even your emaciated arms and legs match a goblin, don't they?"

Though he was still profoundly afraid, the man couldn't help but scowl at being compared to such a lowly creature. He tried to shout out once again, but the moment he opened his mouth a flash of light passed in front of his face and his tongue and lower jaw were completely severed from his body. Since he was only a Level 1, the man couldn't even see the actions of the Level 3 Shiva. He tried to scream out again, but the only thing he could manage was a pained gurgling sound as he tried to stimy the flow of blood with his hands.

Shiva stared down on him a bit before walking over to the 'tools' the man used for his hobby. There were also several types of experimental potions that were used to seal wounds and treat infections. Shiva grabbed a few hooked tools, a hammer, and some of the potions as she made her way over to the man that once again tried to crawl away. She used the hammer to crack his wrists before shattering the joints of his fingers to prevent him from trying to crawl away again. He couldn't resist her actions at all and was helpless as she shoved a potion down his open gullet. Since he had no lower jaw, he couldn't resist her actions at all as the wounds slowly closed around the bottle.

Shiva held the side of his face and gave him a 'gentle' smile before smashing the glass bottle into the top of his mouth and destroying several of his remaining teeth. When the man passed out, she took the hooked tool and placed it on the inside of his thigh, approximately next to the knee, and jammed it into his leg before pulling up with a tearing force. The man instantly woke up and tried his best to scream but was unable to. All he got for his efforts were several pink-hued bubbles that were frothing around his nose and air-hole as he struggled to breathe.

To prevent him from suffocating, Shiva jammed a tube into his larynx and fixed it in place with loose bands. She didn't care if he died, but she wanted him to savor the experience more before he passed on. For the next half hour, she continued to carve away and flay his flesh while inspecting each part of the man's body. Before she moved on, she would use the experimental potions to heal his wounds and then neatly arrange the body parts for him to view. By the time she was done, the only thing that remained of the man was his torso and head as he stared at his own butchered limbs with dead eyes.

Shiva showed an incredibly gentle smile as she stroked his tattered and sticky hair for a few seconds while saying in a soothing tone, "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon...this next part is your favorite...it would be a shame if you went your entire life without experiencing it yourself." Pouring the remaining salve and potions on the man's body, Shiva bent forward before severing the man's penis. Since she had force-fed him an aphrodisiac earlier, even though he was in severe pain, the man still had an erection. She tied off the base of the member to keep the blood from flowing and then removed the remnants of the vial that was in his mouth. The parting gift she left for the main before freeing the slaves in the mansion was his own penis shoved deeply into his throat...

(A/N: The title is a play on the phrase 'Just Deserts'. Get it, because the title is just 'Desserts'(O,..,O)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Softness','Whims of Fate','Shiva's Vengeance')