Chapter 493: Responsibility

[February 21st DxD/October 14th DBT]

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"Hmmn...?"

Reacting to an extraordinarily powerful spiritual pulse, Vahn sat up and purposefully manipulated his Domain to surge toward its source. At the same time, the blonde-haired beauty that had been drooling next to him with her arm across his stomach groaned, "Mmnnngh...what time is it...?" before sitting up to stretch.

"Around six in the morning..." Vahn responded, continuing to search for the source of the spiritual pulse until the elf-eared woman combed back her bangs, leaned over his lap, and began sucking him off with the skills she had acquired only a few days prior.

"Well, good morning to you too..." Vahn hummed, turning his attention to the woman and sliding his left hand along her back to caress her butt and finger her with a smile. He wasn’t the only one who could investigate the origin of the spiritual pulse. And with his Domain encompassing the entire Sadida Kingdom, he would know if it posed a threat to his people.

"Mmmmn...I need something to drink. Your cock is too big. I need to wet my throat before I can suck it properly..." remarked the woman, rising to a seated position and accepting the warm herbal tea Vahn readily provided. As she drank it in several large gulps, Vahn couldn’t help marveling at her with a relaxed smile...

"What? Why are you staring at me...?" asked the woman, the tips of her elongated ears turning red and waggling ever so slightly as she held the emptied cup to conceal the lower half of her face.

"I was just admiring your physique...like a supple but sturdy willow tree in full bloom..." Vahn responded, causing the woman’s ears to waggle faster. She knew before she asked that he was going to say something absurdly cheesy. And the most absurd thing of all was how happy it made her feel to hear him compliment her at all...

"Y-You’re just trying to soften me up so I’ll let you put a baby in me...just like my big sis..." countered the woman, avoiding Vahn’s gaze. The sister in question was none other than Evangeline. And since he was incapable of telling a lie, Vahn admitted—

"Women are at their most captivating when they’re pregnant..." while gazing down at the woman’s, Cleome’s, usually flat belly. Because of how she was sitting, her skin folded inward twice. But if she were to straighten out, the faint outline of a six-pack could be seen.

"Your ability to say things like that and completely mean them is scary as hell..." Cleome remarked, staring at Vahn with a sidelong gaze like he was a monster. Contrasting this, her insides contracted almost painfully at the thought of Vahn filling her to the brim with his semen and planting a baby inside of her...

"Wait..." Vahn muttered, leaving Cleome confused as he held up his right hand and glanced in the direction he had extended his Domain previously. In the very next moment, he disappeared from view, falling through a pale golden portal he had formed beneath him.

"Hey! You can’t get me riled up like that and take off...!" Cleome shouted, leaning over the portal. When she saw what Vahn was doing on the other side, however, her mouth promptly shut, her eyes widening to their limits at the sight of the massive tidal wave surging toward what appeared to be the nearby coast...

As Cleome was wondering what Vahn could do to thwart such a massive tsunami, the Dragon God in question raised his hands, fingers spread. As he did, a powerful gust of wind disturbed his hair and the leafy garments he had donned, causing him to appear unspeakably heroic as the wall of water simply stopped.

"So cool..." Cleome muttered, her momentarily pale face flushing as she subconsciously squeezed her thighs.

’This is more difficult than I remember...’ Vahn noted, his form unmoving but his body, particularly his hands and forearms, filling with tension. The method he was using to stop the tsunami was Waterbending—something he hadn’t used actively since giving up his Authority. As a result, stopping the tsunami felt like holding back a mountain range. Lucky for the Sadida Kingdom, that was something he was capable of doing...

After stopping the tsunami’s momentum, Vahn guided the sea to settle slowly. If he carelessly allowed it to flow backward all at once, he risked creating another tsunami in the opposite direction. And unlike the Sadida Kingdom, other nations didn’t have a King Regent who could stop trillions of tonnes of water dead in its tracks...

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As disaster reports and aid requests flowed in from virtually every coastal city, from northern Bonta to southern Brakmar, Vahn was more concerned with addressing the source of the hemisphere-spanning tsunami. It hadn’t been difficult to ascertain that it originated from Mt. Zinit, the residence of none other than Ogrest. And when Vahn teleported over to take a look, he was bewildered to discover the monstrously powerful God-Ogre attacking the mountain itself...

"To think that Ogrest was a real, living creature, and not just a myth..." Armant muttered, standing hunched over a table depicting The World of Twelve and its known nations, cities, and villages. Nearly a hundred bright red thumb tacks formed a half-crescent from Bonta to Brakmar—with only the forested lands of the Sadida Kingdom being completely unaffected by the disaster.

"In a world where the Gods frequently descend to sire children, a myth about a monster who single-handedly defeated them should have been taken seriously..." Vahn commented, seated atop a comfortable chair at the head of the table. He wasn’t blaming Armant or the other nations for not preparing in advance, but the colloquialism ’Ogrest’s Chaos’ existed for a reason. Natural disasters propagated by the rampaging Ogre were so common that simple villagers knew where to attribute their existence. With that in mind, building their major cities almost exclusively along the coast was a fairly tremendous oversight by the nations’ leaders...

"..."

Raising his gaze from the map, Armant asked the question at the forefront of his and many others’ minds at that moment, specifically, "Can you beat him?"

"Definitely..." Vahn affirmed, preempting Armant’s relief by shaking his head and adding, "But it isn’t my responsibility to do so. I’ve explained to you many times how Karma works. I can’t defend this world from threats without accepting personal responsibility for it. The Sadida Kingdom owes its comparatively pristine condition to the contracts I’ve forged with your sister and Eva..."

"The other nations aren’t going to like that answer..." Armant remarked, exhaling loudly through his nose. Vahn had, in fact, explained to him how Karma worked many times over. And though it made handling the current situation inconvenient, he couldn’t condemn Vahn for not acting when he regularly argued that his nation and people should be allowed to develop independently of the foreign God’s influence...

"Speaking hypothetically...what would it take to get you to act...?" Armant questioned, understanding it was one of the first questions the leaders of the other nations would ask.

"It depends on who is doing the asking..." Vahn answered, explaining, "As an example, if Yugo and his Dragon kin were to request my intervention, the price they would be expected to pay would be significantly reduced compared to an everyday villager. And if someone more powerful than Ogrest requested my intervention, I could theoretically lend it freely—so long as the person issuing the quest is prepared to shoulder the resultant karmic deficit."

"And what if the leaders of every nation were to come together to make such a request...?" Armant asked.

"You’re precariously close to stumbling onto a loophole," Vahn remarked, smiling as he confirmed, "In that case, I would be able to take action. The resulting karmic deficit would then fall on those who made the request, in order of their personal power and influence. In essence, they would need to deal with phenomena similar to Ogrest’s Chaos, even if the God-Ogre is no longer in the picture."

"In other words, it’s impossible to avoid losses without the means to avoid them from the start..." Armant concluded somberly, turning his gaze to the map of The World of Twelve. What Vahn was saying made sense. But that didn’t make it any easier to accept...

"We’ve confirmed that very phenomenon multiple times..." Vahn affirmed, losing his smile as he revealed, "In one such instance, tens of thousands of people were fated to perish in a war. Because of my and the Pavilion’s intervention, that war was prevented. In the months that followed, nearly every person who was supposed to perish in that war died in accidents or fell deathly ill. Only those with inordinate willpower and those who formed independent contracts with the Pavilion survived..."

"In other words, without some overriding protection, the lives that would have been spent in our effort to defeat Ogrest will be forfeit regardless..." Armant concluded soberly.

"That is the tragic certitude of Karma. Without the power to oppose its influence or rewrite fate itself, it will always collect the debts it is owed..." Vahn confirmed with a sigh, closing his eyes and bringing forth the image of a demonic insect comprised of red and black antimatter. The Anathema were the supreme expression of the concept he was describing. And if he weren’t careful, even he would be forced to pay a hefty price when Karma came to collect the debt he owed...

"As you are presently King Regent of the Sadida Kingdom, I presume it’s safe to ask for your opinion on how we might resolve this matter with the fewest casualties. Or am I mistaken?" Armant questioned, recovering from his momentary solemnity.

"Ideally, we would dispatch a small group of coordinated and powerful people to, at the very least, ascertain the reason Ogrest is attacking Mt. Zinit," Vahn answered, proffering, "The obvious candidates are the Class Kings and Queens. And if they’re able to petition the intervention of their Gods, even better."

"I can’t imagine that happening. The Iop King? perhaps. But the others? They typically only take action if their territories are threatened directly..." Armant stated with a frown.

"Then we either provide them a suitable incentive or recruit a group of would-be heroes who are willing to enter a Training Room to acquire the power necessary to defeat Ogrest," Vahn proposed, preempting Armant’s excitement by adding, "Though, based on what I observed, that might not be possible—not without said heroes forming a contract with the Pavilion or receiving immense external support. And considering Ogrest was able to defeat The Twelve, those who face him would ultimately require power greater than the Gods..."

"Meaning we would need to select people who can be trusted not to let that power go to their heads..." Armant concluded, his eyes igniting with a fierce determination.

"You’re thinking you should be one of them..." Vahn hummed, reading the former Prince like an open book.

"The alternative among the Sadida would be my sister, but we both know she isn’t suited to such a responsibility..." Armant contended, his resolute look replaced by an awkward smile. He knew Vahn wouldn’t appreciate it if he disparaged Amalia outright, so he tried for humor.

"Perhaps..." Vahn acknowledged, closing his eyes and resting his cheek on the knuckles of his right hand as he decided, "For now, we will gather The Council of Twelve for an emergency session. We will hear what they have to say before proposing a resolution to nominate heroes from each nation and Class to make use of a Training Room. From there, everything will depend on the efforts of said heroes..."

"You’re fine with me nominating myself...?" Armant asked, doing his best to appear calm despite feeling excited by the prospect that he would be able to gain power in excess of the Gods...

"I have no reason to oppose your nomination," Vahn affirmed, opening his eyes to calmly meet Armant’s gaze as he warned, "Just remember...with great power comes ever greater responsibilities..."

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