Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-897

While Vahn was skulking around in the darkness of the Dwarven mines, Sterlaag had quickly gone to meet with his father, Kanav. It had only been a few minutes since the Mother Mountain’s upper half was destroyed and, even though the information had already reached the various Patriarchs, none had seen the true extent of the damage. There were even some who, upon receiving the message from the slaves, ended up caning the messengers for grossly exaggerating events. Though the shockwave was powerful enough to even resonate within the Undercities, few could believe their precious Mother Mountain had been devastated to such an extent.

Kanav, holding the most authority amongst the Elder Council, was one of the more level-headed of the bunch, even though he too couldn’t quite believe the words that had reached his ears. When his son burst into the room unannounced, Kanav’s expression became icy as he used his golden scepter and thumped his panicked son, stating, "Calm yourself, boy, are you trying to embarrass the Ironheart household?" At the same time, Kanav sent a glare towards his Chief Steward, a sturdy Kyrie tribe member who was 220cm tall with shaven horns that were capped with gold. The man bowed low in response and quickly cleared the room, forcing the servants into a nearby chamber where the sound of a whip could be heard...

Sterlaag made no effort to wipe the blood from his forehead as he looked into his father’s eyes and exclaimed, "Vahn Mason had appeared within Enterprise, Father. He warned that, if the Elder Council did not acquiesce, even greater devastation would befall our people. You may not have seen it yet, but half of the Mother Mountain is now gone...! Father, he said the next target will be the Undercities themselves...!" Right now, information and reality weren’t quite caught up with each other so the response of the Dwarves had been staggered in an extreme manner. If this had been a real invasion, the amount of damage they would have suffered due to their complacency would have put them in an unrecoverable situation.

Hearing his son’s words, Kanav scowled in disdain but still said, "Calm down and explain what has happened. You said half the Mother Mountain is gone? Preposterous..." Even as these words left his mouth, Kanav simply couldn’t believe such a thing were possible. Though he could tell his son was being serious, his words matching with other reports, such a devastating weapon as a ’green sun’ was beyond comprehension. If Vahn really had a weapon that could destroy half a mountain, there was simply no way they would be able to defend against his attack. They hadn’t even been aware until after the attack had happened that he was within their perimeter. Now, his son was saying that Vahn had even appeared within Enterprise...it sounded like a horrible nightmare, far removed from reality.

Seeing that his father didn’t believe him, Sterlaag felt incredulous as he recounted everything he had seen with his own eyes. He spoke of how the outgoing shipments were being prepared when, out of nowhere, a massive green sun had appeared where the Mother Mountain once stood, tall and majestic. By the time the light had cleared away, the peak had now become empty space as a catastrophic amount of debris rained down upon Enterprise, dealing enough collateral damage that it would take years to complete the repairs. He even spoke about how his office, which he was about to enter, ended up being completely crushed by a large boulder before, a few minutes later, Vahn appeared right before him with his message. Then, after leaving his message behind, Vahn simply ’vanished’ from sight, leaving a powerful pressure in his wake that took minutes to disperse...

While listening to his son, Kanav had poured himself a cold glass of the exceptionally rare [Dwarven Drought]. He had acquired it for 70,000,000V through the black market after thieves had stolen it from the abode of one of Vahn’s Clubhouse members. It was one of his prized possessions and, during stressful times, Kanav found himself nursing a crystalline glass of the aromatic substance as he ruminated over the best course of action. Even as his son practically salivated upon smelling the aroma wafting from the glass, Kanav just gave him an icy glare and encouraged him to continue his recounting of events as he locked away the precious alcohol within his personal safe...

After his son had finished explaining things, Kanav knew it likely wasn’t an embellishment of the facts, especially when several other messengers came to deliver updated reports. There were even reports about Slave Wranglers and Breeders being found dead while their slaves were rioting in the mines below. Given the rumors of Vahn being a ’Saint who liberates Slaves’, Kanav believed the chance that Vahn had infiltrated their underground was very high. It was even likely, with almost absolute certainty, that Vahn had already planted the ’Green Sun Bombs’ within the Undercities, all without their notice. He obviously had the means to move about undetected and, even if they searched every nook and cranny of the Undercities, it would be nigh-impossible for them to locate the bombs, especially if he planted them in the mines below...

Though it was incredibly wasteful, Kanav found himself opening his safe and pulling out an entire container of [Dwarven Drought] and downing its contents. It immediately hit him like a ton of bricks but, at the same time, allowed him a strange bit of clarity as he looked toward his son and said, "Pass a message to those old bastards. We need to discuss this topic immediately...!" Three days was hardly enough time to make such important decisions and, given Vahn’s track record, Kanav knew they didn’t have the option to try and stonewall him. It was very possible to buy a bit of time for themselves, as Vahn was known to be ’relatively’ lenient, but, the moment he decided to take action against them, it would already be too late.

Sterlaag immediately went to pass on his father’s words without sending for a slave to do so in his stead. He knew it was a matter of supreme importance and, if they sent slaves to communicate through slaves, the context of the message could get distorted slightly. Generally, it could take several hours just to get all of the Elder Council members into the same room, as each member tried to show up later than the others, but that would only cause more problems this time around. Now wasn’t the time for fronting and fencing issues as, for the first time in their long history, their walls and defenses served absolutely no purpose in protecting them from enemies. In fact, rather than protect them, it was almost like they were Pallums stuffed into a barrel and prodded with hot irons. There was no escape and, if Vahn found their response lacking, they would be the ones to feel the burn this time around...

Following behind a bronze-skinned Pallum with dark hair and golden eyes, Vahn found himself at one of the middle levels in the underground infrastructure beneath the Undercities. This was one of the regions where slaves were bred, born, and, after their deaths, mashed up into protein for future generations of slaves. Vahn had already slaughtered the majority of Dwarves manning these farms, as the vast majority had auras so black they were like pure darkness. This time, however, Vahn was intended to ’spare’ the ’Professional Breeder’, as this young Pallum had actually known the name and location of the man Elilly had wanted vengeance against. Vahn promised that, if the Pallum led the way to the farm, he would take him back to Orario with him, providing food, clothing, and payment for his services.

Pointing a maimed and calloused finger forward, the Pallum, named Aja, spoke in an icy tone, "That is where Master Hodin lives...what do you want me to do now...?" Since Vahn had already identified the man who should be Hodin, he looked toward the young Pallum and saw that the light in his eyes had yet to return. For many slaves in these circ.u.mstances, they simply couldn’t believe that a better future awaited them, even as Vahn went around killing Dwarves like harvesting wheat. They were so accustomed to being used and tossed aside that, within Aja’s mind, it ’made sense’ if Vahn simply killed him before going on his way...

Understanding Aja’s worries, Vahn held out one of the apples that grew naturally within the illusory forest. They were extremely rich in nutrients after bathing in the natural and vital energies from Yggy’s and Terra’s combined dominion. Instead of red, they had actually started to take on a pale yellow color while, those growing closer to Yggy, even had a slightly golden hue to them. Since they were extremely delicious and could make a person feel full with just a few bites, Vahn had stockpiled a few into his Inventory for such situations. They had been a big hit whenever he gave them to the starving slaves and, though he was hesitant at first, Aja accepted the apple before biting into it moments later. When he tasted the rich juices and the indescribably delicious ’meat’ of the apple, the boy broke down into tears and began cradling the apple in his chest as if it were his most precious possession.

With a calm smile on his face, Vahn lightly whispered, "I always try to make good on my promises, Aja. When I am finished here, I will make an emergency teleportation ward that will allow those within these mines to escape this hellish place. For now, take these apples and meet me back at the large underground river where the aqueducts were located. I have already sent others to do the same and, once you enter that area, you will be safe from harm until I return. Before this day ends, your life as a slave will be no more..." Though there would undoubtedly be casualties amongst some slaves, as their Masters could kill them at a distance with simple commands, it required a long process that included naming and imagining the correct person. Vahn was killing most of the slave owners and breeders to prevent the loss of innocent lives, but there was no way he could get everyone in this massive underground complex...

Aja, feeling full of energy, accepted the bag of apples without any argument and quickly began making his way to the underground lake. Even if Vahn was lying to him, the fact that he had a bag filled with nearly a hundred delicious apples was a fair exchange for simply guiding him to a single destination. However, seeing the serious expression on Vahn’s face, Aja felt hopeful that there was truth in the strange and powerful man’s words. He had already seen Vahn completely annihilate every wrangler and guard within the mines in an instant while quickly controlling the slaves with just a few concise commands. They all listened to him without question, readily taking up the strange black swords and spears to begin rioting for their freedom. At the time, even Aja had proudly waved around a black shortsword as warm energy filled his body with limitless stamina...

Seeing the boy run off, Vahn’s smile faded away, replaced by an icy and emotionless expression as he held out his hand and locked on to the position of Hodin, his apprentices, and his Wranglers. Vahn felt them resist against his telekinesis but completely ignored their efforts to escape as he pulled his hand back, forcing their bodies to crash through the reinforced walls. The natural Endurance of a Dwarf, without a Falna, could even rival most Level 2 Adventurers. Being smashed through a few walls might break a few bones, but it wouldn’t cause any fatal wounds unless they were ’unlucky’...

With the eight men and two women floating in the air above him, Vahn’s icy gaze passed over them as he set eyes on Hodin, asking, "Which one of you is Hodin...?" He wanted to see if this disgusting man would try to talk his way out of the situation, throwing one of his companions forward as a sacrifice for time. Surprisingly, Hodin struggled in the air, screaming, "Let me down you pathetic human cur...! You think you can just do whatever you want here on my farm!? I’ll have the guards shackle you to a sheer limestone surface and whip you for days...!"

Hearing Hodin’s words, Vahn was actually slightly taken aback, wondering what kind of thoughts were running through the madman’s mind for him to think he had any such authority. If not for the fact Hodin’s life belonged to Elilly, Vahn would have simply snapped the arrogant man’s neck for his asinine remark. However, just because he couldn’t kill him, didn’t mean Hodin was exempt from any form of suffering after saying such foolish things. Vahn, with a pebble in hand, flicked it towards Hodin’s elbow with enough speed that it created three audible ’claps’ from the air breaking around it. He could see as the pebble passed clean through the joint, shattering Hodin’s elbow, as the muscle and skin flared outward from the shockwave before collapsing back inward from elasticity. Even so, there was a gaping hole where the stone had passed, causing Hodin to scream out bloodcurdling insults as spittle flew from his mouth...

Since holding them up was troublesome, Vahn used his domain to exert pressure on these ten individuals as he dropped them to the ground, hard. He gave the group a quick once-over, taking note that the ’cleanest’ amongst them had a muted grey aura, before pulling out a set of metallic collars. These weren’t normal slave collars, but a specialized item that Vahn had developed to restrain troublesome individuals. Capturing Enyo had gotten him to think about means to keep others captive for short periods of time and, as a result, Vahn developed an indestructible Adamantine collar that was coated in magisteel. It could resize to fit a person, causing extreme discomfort, without losing any of its rather hefty weight. At the same time, the collars had a detrimental ability called ’Extreme Fatigue:A’ that made even small actions extremely difficult.

Once the collars were on, Vahn released them from his pressure but, even without his domain pressing down on them, none of the ten ’monsters’ were able to rise to their feet. Even Hodin, who had strength over Level 3, was left clutching his arm as his body trembled like a man caught in a snowstorm for several days. Vahn just looked down on them from above, feeling absolutely no pity as he said, "Your status is unique amongst those that will die for their inhumane treatment of others. One of your former slaves, Elilly, will decide how to deal with you...I hope you are prepared..." As he spoke, Vahn noticed the two Dwarven women began trembling just as much as Hodin who, upon hearing Vahn’s words, became extremely pale...

(A/N: I had to go get keys to my new apartment and move some stuff with my roommate so I’m not sure when the other chapters will come out. Still, there should definitely be at least two more with a fair chance for three.)

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Corrupt to the very foundation...’,’God of Liberation’,’Karma isn’t just a bitch to Vahn it seems xD...’)