EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 259: Conclusion

"Eeeeveryone stooooop fighting~!" exclaimed Tiamat, her cheerful voice carrying across the battlefield, interrupting the remaining battles as she revealed, "Kyoraku-taichou of Team Gotei has forfeited, so the Dragon's Pavilion are the winners of today's inaugural Rating Game! Good work to the participants on both sides! I can't wait to see how everyone improves before the next~!"

Hearing Tiamat's announcement, Byakuya internally breathed a sigh of relief. His expression was still stoic, hardly changing throughout his bout with Yamato, Ravel, Asia, Frieren, Robin, and the newly arrived Issei, but his breathing was somewhat labored, and despite the pervasive chill that had permeated the area, he was sweating.

"Oh? The Rating Game is over...?" asked Yamato, resting her kanabo on her shoulder before smiling broadly and chiming, "Well fought, Kuchiki-taichou! Next time, let's enjoy a proper one-on-one!"

"If the opportunity presents..." responded Byakuya, closing his eyes and using Shunpo to vanish before the conversation could continue. Yamato puffed her cheeks at this, mildly annoyed by Byakuya's abrupt exit, but only briefly, as she had allies to celebrate with...

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"They pulled one over on us..." hummed Vahn, realizing what the Soul Society had done even without Venelana, Sona, or Ravel laying things out for him.

"Aw, poop. And I was really looking forward to showing everyone what I could do..." pouted Serafall, followed by a cutesy snort. She wasn't truly upset, but that didn't stop her from fishing for attention.

"Next time, for certain..." affirmed Vahn, pulling Serafall from his thigh to his lap to embrace her from behind and bury the lower half of his face into her silky, flowery-fragranced hair—reminiscent of lavender. Unlike her, he was moderately irritated that he didn't get to display his power, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel proud. He had expected his team to do their best but eventually be eliminated by Captains like Kenpachi and Byakuya. Instead, everyone went above and beyond, securing an almost one-sided victory that merited many, many rewards...

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"It's over..." sighed Hitsugaya, exhaling a cloud of icy condensation as he had refused to ingest the True Fire Essence Pill before the Rating Game's commencement. He didn't doubt that it did as Vahn claimed, but he didn't appreciate the insinuation that he required external assistance to master a power that was his own.

"Thank the Gods..." groaned Matsumoto, unabashedly plopping onto her bottom and opening the front of her Shihakusho to an almost dangerous extent—allowing her visibly glistening twins a chance to breathe.

"Pull yourself together...there could still be people watching..." reminded Hitsugaya, his expression and tone flat as, for the briefest of moments, he snuck a peek at Matsumoto's cleavage. He had no interest in Matsumoto, but he was still a man despite his youthful appearance.

Touching down before the two Shinigami, her predominately blue Touki dispersing like a warm breeze, Xenovia smiled and remarked, "It appears our bout has come to an end. And, though this might feel condescending coming from your opponent, I want to express that the two of you fought well. Thanks to that, I was able to learn more about my current limits and Adjudica's power. For that, I express to you my utmost gratitude..."

Seeing Xenovia close her eyes and offer a steep bow, Hitsugaya couldn't help exhaling exasperatedly from his nose, thinking, 'They're even humble in victory...this is our complete defeat...' while outwardly expressing, "Your words honor us, Xenovia-dono...and we look forward to the opportunity to grow alongside the Dragon's Pavilion from here on..."

Raising her head, Xenovia's smile broadened as she nodded and affirmed, "Anything is attainable through our Lord and the Dragon's Pavilion. Let our next bout be in the higher Floors of the Tower."

Finished with what she had to say, Xenovia offered another, slighter bow before glancing at Matsumoto, causing the strawberry-blonde's brows to raise as she gave her a playful wink before departing via a golden Magic Circle.

"Am I imagining things, Taichou, or did that girl just wink at me...?" asked Matsumoto, her expression a mix of incredulity tinged with mirth as, while it wasn't the first time another woman had acted flirtatiously toward her, it was usually her sneaking up behind other women in the bath.

"I didn't see anything..." lied Hitsugaya, his expression and tone flat as he averted his eyes, triggering Matsumoto's sisterly, almost cat-like instincts. Hitsugaya could have easily avoided her, but despite his frequent protests and chastisements regarding her behavior, he pretended to be caught off guard when she pounced upon, squeezed, and playfully rubbed her cheek against his while commenting on how precious he was...

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[Four Hours Later]

With the space comprising the Rating Game's battlefield collapsed and the post-game banquet nearing its conclusion, Vahn, attended by Grayfia and Venelana, was invited to a private dining room where a very large and bald man with an extraordinarily long and full beard, beady red eyes, and thick eyebrows awaited. His attire was reminiscent of a Shinigami Captain, a white haori over a black Shihakusho, but the material was of a markedly higher quality, and he had large, baseball-sized prayer beads adorning his neck, reinforcing his status as the Soul Society's High Priest and the Monk Who Calls the Real Name.

"Ah! Delegates of the Dragon's Pavilion! Ryukami! Welcome...!" bellowed the man, Hyosube Ichibe, his voice friendly and booming as he raised his arms in greeting but remained seated at an ornate, wooden, table-sized Shogi board. Notably, in place of traditional Shogi pieces, the angular tiles bore Kanji such as High Priest, Kenshin, Great Weaver, Ryukami, Left and Right Hand, Herald, and many other familiar terms.

"I was wondering when you would make your appearance..." hummed Vahn, causing Ichibe's thick brows to rise due to his deliberate use of informal language. At the same time, he approached and made himself comfortable across from the exceedingly ancient Shinigami, prompting Grayfia and Venelana to sit down a short distance behind him, sporting calm, observant, and challenging smiles.

"Have I done something to offend Ryukami-sama...?" questioned Ichibe, caressing his beard with his right hand, feigning ignorance.

"Too many things to recount," responded Vahn, his eyes narrowed and tone neutral as he appended, "But since most of your sins predate our worlds becoming linked, I will only hold you to account for your offenses moving forward. Consider it a professional courtesy..."

"Humu...I see..." responded Ichibe, his wide, rounded eyes focused on Vahn, unblinking since the former's arrival.

Deciding to get straight to the point, Ichibe casually pointed out, "You mentioned to the Captain of the 13th Division, Ukitake Jushiro, that you welcome attempts to seal or imprison you. I would invite Ryukami-sama to humor our attempts with the understanding that the Dragon's Pavilion will not retaliate if we are successful."

Though Grayfia's and Venelana's brows creased slightly at Ichibe's sheer audacity, Vahn didn't hesitate to nod, responding, "Sure, I don't mind. But you should understand that I have better things to do than subject myself to countless sealing attempts. I will afford you three opportunities, and in the wake of each, you will honor one of our requests. The first can be free since you did us a favor by endorsing Kukaku's appointment as Captain of the forthcoming 14th Division."

"That was Reio-sama's decision, but we will accept your terms," affirmed Ichibe, offering a nod before sweeping over the Shogi table with his right hand, adding, "But that is a matter for the future. Would Ryukami-sama do me the honor of a friendly match?"

Shaking his head, Vahn countered, "I do not honor those without it. And if the method you're considering is the one this board is derived from, don't blame me when no amount of name-calling can bring you back from what I do to you..."

"Ryukami-sama can rest assured..." stated Ichibe, sporting a broad smile that didn't affect the intensity of his stare as he assured, "I merely wished to confirm the extent of your...omniscience. The method I have in mind is something original."

With Ichibe stressing the word original, Vahn couldn't help but wonder if the man had discovered that his world was templated from anime. The incredibly ancient Shinigami had the power to grasp and even change the history of people, places, and objects using their names, so in his search for useful information on the Dragon's Pavilion, he had undoubtedly spied on Kukaku, ascertaining everything she knew.

"Try what you like..." responded Vahn, his expression and tone exuding impassivity as he shrugged and stated, "Just remember my warning. The moment you transition from targeting me to those I care about, there isn't a force in this world or any other that can stop me from casting you out of existence itself."

Demonstrating his point, Vahn raised his right hand, causing Ichibe to frown but offer no resistance as he was summarily returned to the Soul King's palace with a flick, bypassing their original seventy-two barriers and the thirty-six they recently added on top of those as if they simply didn't exist.

"Alright, let's go home," said Vahn, rising to his feet and habitually placing his hands on Grayfia's and Venelana's full and round bottoms as they rose to meet him. A brief flash of golden light later, they were gone, prompting the mass return of nearly their entire procession—leaving only Azazel and a handful of outliers who had been allowed to linger for private or political reasons behind...

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[January 20th TST/September 12th DBT]

Ding!

With barely a day passing since their victory against the Gotei, Vahn was still in the middle of rewarding Ravel, Asia, Xenovia, Erza, Yamato, Robin, Lalatina, and Frieren when the faint ping of a priority notification echoed in his ears, faint but impossible to ignore.

'What is it this time...?' Vahn asked himself, feeling exasperated as he opened his chat interface. Ever since he disconnected Invirtua from the outside, he felt as though he was constantly being interrupted. Of course, that didn't stop his hips from smacking loudly against Robin's toned and immaculately-sculpted ass, which had been near perfect even before her reincarnation as a Devil. Now, it was irresistible...

[Hey, lizard-breath. Let's grab a bite to eat and hang out.]

Seeing that the message was from Bonney, a conflicted frown marred Vahn's face. He had a soft spot for children, particularly those who had endured extreme hardships, so even if Bonney was implicitly asking him out on a date, he didn't want to upset her by refusing the invitation. The fact she had purposely sent it as a priority message also suggested she had something she wanted to talk about, so while he didn't immediately drop what he was doing to rush to her side, he told her he could meet her within twenty minutes before using time compression to give himself and the eight enraptured women four hours to wrap things up...

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"That jerk...constantly keeping me waiting..." grumbled Bonney, poutily sipping from a foamy flagon with orange cider rather than alcohol. There were no laws against someone her age drinking alcohol back in her world, but she tended to avoid it after nearly being taken advantage of on more than a few occasions.

"In my defense, you never give me a heads up before demanding to see or speak with me," stated Vahn, causing Bonney to startle and nearly spill her drink as he appeared rather abruptly atop the stool next to hers at the bar she was seated at. In fact, she did spill it, but the orange liquid didn't scatter about. Instead, it retracted back into her cup without so much as a drop spilling onto her clothes or the countertop.

"It's about damn time you showed up...!" barked Bonney, sneaking a peek at a nearby wall clock to confirm it had only been thirteen minutes rather than the twenty Vahn implied it would take him to come over. She was still angry, but the fact he had presumably rushed over made her less so.

"So, did you want to eat here, or did you have some other place in mind?" asked Vahn, understanding the futility of trying to placate a woman or, in Bonney's case, a young girl who had decided to be angry.

"We'll begin here and hit every bar and tavern between here and the central plaza...!" decided Bonney, now feeling annoyed due to Vahn's casual segue and failure to apologize. Of course, she wasn't genuinely mad, but as one of the few successful female Pirates of her generation, she had a reputation to uphold...

"Mmn...alright, then..." responded Vahn, offering an affirming nod and a patient smile that brought a broad, triumphant grin to Bonney's face. She did have something to discuss with him, but before that, she dragged him around for six and a half hours as if trying to show him off to everyone else occupying the palace's first floor...

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