"You can't keep me here forever," asserted Vali, crossing his arms as he warned, "And if you don't let me out soon, you'll regret it immensely once I escape."
"Why would you want to?" asked Vahn, sporting a half-lidded glower as he pointed out, "You said your goal was to become stronger. Well, you can become infinitely powerful here. The only reason you would want to leave is because strength isn't your goal..."
"And what's your goal?" asked Vali, arguing, "You're not even from this world, so what gives you the right to influence it, much less become its God? Your mere existence invites conflict..."
"You're wrong..." responded Vahn, his frown deepening as he reasoned, "People provoke conflicts because they choose to or because they have convinced themselves their actions are justified. My existence alone isn't a threat to anyone, but because of what I can do, those who seek power and control feel threatened. Because they understand, deep down, they don't deserve their position. So anything that empowers others to oppose their tyranny is labeled a threat by default..."
"Do you honestly believe you're opposing tyranny?" asked Vali, snorting in contempt before contending, "So long as there are inequities in the world, and there will always be inequities, those at the top will always be viewed as oppressors and tyrants by those who desire more than the lot imposed on them. Even if you eliminated and replaced everyone in the world with a clone of the same individual, they would eventually separate into factions and oppose one another despite having the exact same starting point and memories. People crave individuality, power, and comfort, and since there will always be roles that people covet and essential but degrading jobs no one wants to be consigned to, delegation becomes necessary, sowing the seeds of inequity anew..."
"What's your point...?" asked Vahn.
"My point..." emphasized Vali, frowning as he explained, "...is that joining hands with the Three Factions just ensures they remain at the top while others stay at the bottom. I won't deny you could do a lot of good, but is that objectively the best thing for the world? Since the start of the three-way deadlock, humanity has exploded from what was already considered a problematic population of three hundred and fifty million to an excess of seven billion. That's a twenty times increase, and unless there is a sudden and drastic decline in the rate of births, the majority are fated to perish or become fodder for the Gods..."
"And, I assume you have a solution...?" asked Vahn, sporting a half-lidded, unconvinced expression as he felt Vali was simultaneously oversimplifying and conflating things out of proportion to justify his actions.
"There are no solutions, only stop-gap measures..." stated Vali, shaking his head before meeting Vahn's gaze with resolution in his golden eyes, asserting, "But restricting those at the top to protect those at the bottom only exacerbates things. God came into existence to bring balance to the chaos of the primordial world, but chaos is the natural state of things. His many failures and eventual death are the greatest evidence of this. Every effort he made to fix things only made him appear increasingly oppressive and tyrannical to those who didn't receive his grace. If people hadn't lost their faith, it wouldn't have mattered if he was simultaneously pitted against every Devil and Fallen in Creation. They were his creations, and as long as the majority believed it to be true, his power was omnipotent..."
"So, because God failed to create a perfect world, specifically by allowing people to decide for themselves what they believed in, you feel entitled to act out and break things...?" asked Vahn, exhaling a snort of his own as he pointed out, "And the greatest irony of all? You speak of power and giving it purpose through its use, but the power you're wielding isn't even yours. It's Albion's, vested to you by a Sacred Gear created by the very God you speak of as a failure...what does that make you, I wonder?"
"Another of his many mistakes, I suppose..." retorted Vali, extending his right hand and compressing Demonic Power into a sphere of bluish-white energy.
"Then let me make myself clear..." said Vahn, steadfast even as the wind pressure produced by Vali's Demonic Energy caused the water in the hot spring to recede and disintegrate.
Causing Vali's eyes to narrow, Vahn asserted, "Unless you convince me you're not a completely insensible fool and that there's an actual purpose behind your actions, neither of us is leaving this place. Because I would rather die a billion times as you rampage like a child than allow you to kill a billion innocent people..."
"You're a profoundly annoying person..." remarked Vali, causing the back of his right hand to pule blue as Albion suggested, "Perhaps we should all take a step back, take a break, and approach this matter with a renewed mindset? At this rate, the two of you will reach an impasse that adversely affects your respective camps and allies, not just yourselves..."
Snorting, Vali closed his hand and retorted, "That's curious to hear from one of the Heavenly Dragons, but you have a point...my allies can't afford to have me trapped here..."
"You don't see the irony in having allies and people you care about while simultaneously disregarding those relationships between others...?" asked Vahn, preempting Vali's suggestion for a compromise.
Closing his eyes, Vali responded, "Look...it's obvious the two of us aren't going to see eye to eye on most things. Let's just form a magical contract and be done with this. Contrary to what you might believe, I don't have a habit of bullying the weak. So, until the Red Dragon Emperor has reached his full potential and the two of us have settled which of us is superior, my people and I won't attack anyone affiliated with the ORC. Deal?"
"So you expect me to turn a blind eye to all the other people you'll attack in the meantime...?" asked Vahn, frowning.
"Think about what you're saying," retorted Vali, contending, "Even if you keep me here, there are people far worse than me doing as they please, completely outside your purview. Removing yourself from the equation to restrain a single person doesn't solve anything. If anything, you're making the situation even more chaotic because people from both our camps will be investing time and resources into trying to enter this place and recover us. That includes your fiancees, who, at this very moment, are presumably beside themselves with worry..."
Exhaling from his nose, Vahn was tempted to keep arguing with Vali on principle, but the thought of everyone stressing over his disappearance caused his head to cool down. He also knew Vali was correct about there being far worse people in the world than him, people whose existence he turned a blind eye to in favor of living and enjoying life with those he had grown to care for. That was what really mattered to him, so after several seconds of deliberation, he closed his eyes and responded, "Fix what you destroyed, and then we'll talk..."
"This kid..." groaned Vali, closing his eyes and running his hand down his face in exasperation. He got the impression Vahn was being deliberately obtuse, but since his allies needed him to lead them into battle, he gave up trying to reason with the larval God and spent a few minutes using his Devil Magic to return to the ryokan to its original condition...
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Emerging from the Corridor, Vahn was surprised to find Sirzechs, Serafall, Michael, and Azazel gathered around a complex Magic Circle, forming a yin-yang symbol on the ground and a dome-shaped barrier, enclosing him and Vali. Their respective forces were also present, but they were more of an accessory with two Satans, an Archangel, and the Governor-General of the Fallen forming a united front.
"Welcome back," said Sirzechs, sporting a faint smile and offering Vahn a slight nod before shifting his gaze to Vali, stating, "Vali Lucifer. Surrender without further incident, and I can guarantee that you will not be harmed."
"Sorry, but even if you were the actual Lucifer, I don't think you have the means to stop me from leaving..." responded Vali, adopting a challenging smile despite the fact he had returned to his base form. At the same time, causing Sirzechs, Serafall, Michael, and Azazel to become serious, a little girl with hip-length black hair, elf-like ears, deep purple eyes, and a very inappropriate outfit reminiscent of a black, purple, and pink Gothic Lolita outfit but lacking a skirt and fabric over the chest. As a result, her modest breasts were on full display, with only her nipples covered in black, cross-shaped pasties. As for her bottoms, she wore frilly white pumpkin panties with purple-pink ribbons.
'How did she get this close without me noticing her...?' Vahn wondered to himself, staring down at the little girl with a look of confusion. As far as he could tell, she had come into existence within the barrier, and though she looked like a little girl, attempting to sense her power felt like plunging his senses into a deep, seemingly bottomless abyss...
Turning her head and meeting Vahn's gaze out of the corner of her right eye, the mysterious girl adopted a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, her words intended for the surrounding leaders as she expressed, "I still have a use for Lucifer's descendent, so I'll be taking him with me..."
"Well, this is a rare sight..." remarked Azazel, his usually confident smile slightly cramped and a bead of sweat forming on the left side of his face as he noted, "I had heard you were in charge of the newly formed Khaos Brigade, but to think the Ouroboros Dragon, Ophis, would appear to lend a hand to a subordinate...and what's with that appearance? Did you gain access to some shady websites...?"
"Hmm? Is there something wrong with my current appearance?" asked Ophis, cupping her nearly non-existent breasts and jiggling them as she revealed, "It's the form of a girl I discovered on the verge of death in an alleyway. She had run away from her home after being severely abused by her father and uncle, but even though her body and mind had been scarred beyond repair, her heart and soul were as pure and unblemished as fresh snow. You can imagine my surprise when I offered her a chance at vengeance, and she countered my proposal by asking if I could instead use my power to prevent others from suffering a similar fate..."
"She sounds like quite the young lady..." remarked Azazel, his smile gone, replaced by a serious, solemn expression.
"She was," confirmed Ophis, her smile broadening as she looked up at Vali and asked, "Are you done playing?"
"For the time being," responded Vali, prompting Ophis to shift her gaze to Vahn.
'So this is the Infinite Dragon God...the Primordial Dragon that surpasses all of Creation...' mused Vahn, his throat tightening but his thoughts calm, even without the chilling effects of his Will of the Emperor. Ophis's Dragon Aura was incomprehensibly powerful, but there was no intent behind it. At the very least, she didn't seem to harbor any animosity toward him as she stared up at him, completely silent, for several seconds.
Surprising everyone present, none more so than Vahn himself, Ophis's smile appeared to gain a hint of sincerity and playfulness as she pointed to him and said, "Call me Ane(Big Sister)."
"Aren't you more of an Imouto...?" asked Vahn, tilting his head slightly as Ophis, at least in her current form, was only 137cm tall and had the build of an elementary or middle schooler. Her true age purportedly preceded time itself, but it would feel weird referring to such a young-looking girl as his older sister.
"No," responded Ophis, giving the impression she was serious despite no notable changes in her expression as she stated, "You're the Otouto. And if anyone bullies you, it will fall upon me to punish them. Wouldn't you feel embarrassed if your Imouto had to fight your battles for you?"
"Mmm...I guess so..." conceded Vahn, crossing his arms and frowning. He was honestly a little taken aback by Ophis's abrupt attempt to establish a sibling relationship with him, but since it was better than having her as an enemy, he forced a smile and said, "Take care of yourself, Ane-san...and if possible, please don't cause too much trouble..."
"If it's for my cute Otouto, I will consider it..." hummed Ophis, making a gesture as if she was shooting Vahn in the face before both she and Vali disappeared, vanishing into motes of dark and bright purple light. At the same time, the barrier encompassing him shattered like glass, causing an explosion that forced Sirzechs, Serafall, Michael, and Azazal back, making the disparity between their respective powers clear as day...
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