Though Asuna might be ‘immune’ to normal healing magic, Vahn’s SSS-Ranked [Hands of Nirvana] was, at times, even better than magic. He could even restructure a person’s body and change their gender, so, when it came to treating injuries and setting broken bones, the process was completed with ease tantamount to breathing.
Feeling the pain melt away in only a few seconds, Asuna breathed a sigh of relief, but, even after a full minute had passed, she continued clinging to Vahn’s body with her face buried in his chest.
Rather than force her to separate from him, Vahn just lightly pat Asuna’s back a few times. He knew she had already calmed down, but, after having her wrist crushed and body severely electrocuted, it was understandable that she would want to be close to him right now.
Fortunately, while his main body was busy attending Asuna, another version of Vahn was standing near Nagi’s landing area with Fenrir. They were watching Nagi move backward through time with amused expressions on their face, and, though it was a little ‘excessive’, chains in hand.
One of the greatest benefits of being able to reverse the flow of entropy was knowing when and where objects would be certain points in time. Nagi had even created a reference point for them, so, after an additional minute or so, Vahn and Fenrir were waiting to bind him before he had any chance to resist.
Truth be told, Vahn was actually surprised by the fact that Nagi was able to ‘resist’ the reversal of entropy at all. His face would periodically morph into one of indignation, and, though he ended up back at his starting point, it was very apparent that he was cognizant throughout the process. This was a testament to his status as a ‘protagonist’, as, under normal circumstances, even the electrical signals in a person’s brain fired in reverse, completely erasing memories of ‘future’ events.
While thinking about ways to exploit Nagi’s cognizance for ‘training purposes’, Vahn manipulated [Enkidu] to create a cage just as the youth returned to his starting position. This caused both him and Fenrir to be shrouded in a cloud of dust and debris flowing in reverse, but, with a wispy green aura protecting their bodies, they were largely unaffected.
By the time the dust had settled, Nagi, with a deadpan expression on his face, had been completely bound by Enkidu’s golden chains. The perpetual smile he had displayed while fighting was nowhere to be seen, and, as if he didn’t understand the concept of a filter, he didn’t hesitate to stare directly at Vahn as he said, “Come on man, this isn’t cool. We were just starting to have fun. Why’d you had to come in and ruin the mood? And what’s with these chains? Couldn’t you have at least gotten the girl to tie me up? Not cool. Seriously not cool.”
Though he was somewhat amused by Nagi’s words, Vahn had a serious expression on his face as he gestured to Fenrir, saying, “How about a demonstration before our little friend here makes another ill-considered request?”
Understanding her Master’s intentions, Fenrir turned her attention towards a large boulder a few meters away. With a simple gesture, the silver chains extended like a flexible whip before wrapping around the durable stone. The extremely sharp edges of Gleipnir cut into the material as if it was a mound of soft clay, and, after a few seconds had passed, the boulder literally ‘exploded’ under the tremendous pressure of the chain’s restraint.
Despite witnessing the destruction of the boulder, Nagi’s expression didn’t change much. Instead, he adopted a bored look, his eyes losing their focus as he lazily droned, “Wow. How scary. I think I might have pissed myself a little.”
Feeling less amused, Vahn’s expression turned into a similar deadpan as he said, “You have quite the way with words, brat.”
Though he continued displaying a lazy expression, Nagi wasn’t able to conceal the twitching of his brow in response to being called a brat. He generally didn’t care if an enemy insulted him, as it was only natural to exchange barbs during a conflict, but, more than anything else, it irked him when an enemy looked down on him because of his age.
Vahn could even see the gentle pulsing of a person’s veins as blood passed through them, so, even if Nagi had been a thousand times better at maintaining his poker face, tricking him was something even Gods struggled with. Being able to see the boy’s aura also helped, but, even if he disabled his View Affection, Vahn could read most people like an open book. The only exception to this was the people who were close to him, as, even if he was still aware of all the subtleties, he had developed a habit of selectively dulling his senses.
Rather than tease the boy over his age, Vahn decided to act like the adult he was, honestly stating, “You are very powerful. Your personality could use a bit of work, but you certainly aren’t lacking in the power department.”
Though he wasn’t truly baited by Vahn’s words, Nagi’s eyes came back into focus as he looked back at him, a confident smile on his face as he said, “You have no idea, lizard breath. Once I break out of these chains, I’ll-”
Without waiting for Nagi to finish speaking, Vahn allowed Enkidu to dissipate as he returned a smile of his own and asked, “You’ll what…?”
The moment his body was no longer bound, an aura of vibrant lightning surrounding Nagi’s body as he used a short-range teleportation spell to create some distance. At the same time, he extended his hand towards his staff, but, rather than return to his side like usual, it remained completely inert within Vahn’s left hand.
Nagi didn’t want to run away without his staff, but, knowing he was completely outclassed, he grit his teeth like a soldier cutting away an infected limb before turning away and preparing to flee. To his frustration, however, the same green aura as before appeared around his body, and, after a few seconds had passed, he found himself back in front of Vahn.
Since the former hadn’t tried to bind him this time around, Nagi waited for the exact moment when the green aura would fade away. This coincided with the completion of a mental recital of a simple lightning elemental magic, an unnamed spell designed to blind an opponent by releasing a flash of intense light.
Unfortunately, just as the light flashed from his body, Nagi as if a train had smashed into him as he was sent tumbling back like a stray cannonball. He was pretty sure most of the bones in his jaw had been broken, but, before he could even process the severity of his injury, Nagi felt an indescribable amount of frustration as a familiar feeling enveloped his body.
Taking advantage of the fact that Nagi was ‘blind’ during the reversal of entropy, Vahn pulled out the sealed formed of Laev-tan, placing it in the location where the boy would ultimately return. He knew this was a little excessive, but, as it would drastically increase the boy’s motivation during their future training, he wanted to teach the youth a hard lesson.
Though his first instinct was to try a different spell, Nagi was unable to finish the chant as a sickly feeling spread through his body. He also felt a considerable amount of pain, but, rather than show it on his face, the only emotions visible in his expression were confusion and disbelief as he stared at the immaculately crafted blade stabbing through his heart…
Vahn couldn’t help feeling guilty when he saw the youth’s reaction, but, suppressing his empathy as much as possible, he continued to stare blankly at the boy as he said, “Though I would much rather attend other matters, know that I really could do this all day…”
With his words finished, Vahn pulled Laev-tan from Nagi’s chest, allowing him to fall powerlessly to the ground before a green aura enveloped his body. He was hoping the boy would give up, but, as if to prove his qualifications as a protagonist, a resolute light appeared in Nagi’s eyes immediately after he returned to his starting position…
—
Seeing Nagi getting beaten and battered over and over again by Vahn, Asuna first felt a feeling akin to vindication. After several minutes had passed, however, she began to display visible concern, not for the youth, but for the man standing at her side.
Asuna knew Vahn didn’t enjoy tormenting others so the longer the one-sided battle continued, the more it would weigh on his mind. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as nobody should ever enjoy tormenting others, but, due to his nature, Vahn went above and beyond in his efforts to repay those he had wronged.
Fearing Vahn might become excessively tolerant of Nagi after effectively torturing the boy, Asuna tightly squeezed his hand, genuine concern visible in her countenance as she said, “Vahn. Enough.”
Hearing Asuna’s taciturn murmur, Vahn looked down at the twin-tailed girl nestled next to him, a tidal wave of guilt washing over him the moment he saw her expression. He wanted to explain to her that he was only trying to ‘help’ Nagi grow stronger, but, the moment this thought entered his mind, Vahn actually felt taken aback by his own thoughts. He couldn’t help but imagine himself in a similar situation, and, almost immediately after that thought crossed his mind, the image of Tiamat smiling back at him in the Dungeon returned with the force of a freight train…
—
Deciding he had already gotten his point across, even if Nagi wasn’t even remotely deterred, Vahn returned Laev-tan to her sheath before extending his hand at the location of the youth’s head. This took him by surprise, but, the moment he realized what was happening, the red-haired protagonist attempted to leap away while producing a spear of lightning in his right hand.
Using the same outstretched hand as before, Vahn swiped to the side, destroying the spear in an instant as Nagi, having reached the destination of his leap, collapsed to the ground.
Shaking his head, Vahn walked over to where the boy was quickly beginning to familiarize himself with his body, smiling wryly as he explained, “I created a blockage that causes your motor nerves to fire completely randomly. You might be able to figure out some kind of pattern, but, unless you can deal with the blockage, your combat ability might as well be null right now.”
With even the muscles of his jaw refusing to cooperate, Nagi wasn’t even able to properly clench his teeth as he attempted to forcibly channel ki and magical energy through his body.
To Vahn’s surprise, nagi was actually able to make some headway in this regard, stringing his body together using threads of magical energy in much the same way as Rakan. This showed a terrifying adaptability that even rivaled Asuna’s, but, due to Nagi’s lightning elemental affinity, his thread had the effect of causing his muscles to spasm and twitch uncontrollably.
Deciding against watching Nagi cripple himself, Vahn kneeled down next to the youth, earning an incredulous look from the boy as he placed his hand atop the former’s head. Then, with a soothing tone, Vahn shook his head and said, “We will have plenty of opportunities to fight in the future. For now, calm yourself and go to sleep. We are not enemies, Nagi Springfield. Do not force me to harm you without reason…”
As he was more concerned with resisting the overwhelming feeling of drowsiness settling within his mind, Nagi wasn’t able to hear most of Vahn’s words. He was, however, able to understand the part about not being enemies, so, with the last vestiges of his strength, he somehow managed to ignore the fact that his nerves were still firing randomly, saying, “You damn lizard…I don’t swing that way…”
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘[Taunt(Innate):SSS]’,’I have not come to bargain’,’Bruh…’)
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