"Esteemed Patriarch, Custodians, and respected in-laws, the Dragon's Pavilion and the Governors of Termina welcome you to the Intertwining Dragon's Palace..." expressed Vahn, cupping his right hand and beaming at the head of a large procession with Grayfia, Venelana, Misla, Yasaka, Serafall, and Tiamat standing side-by-side behind him, Rias, Sona, Ravel, Seekvaira, Akeno, Tsubaki, Koneko, Xenovia, and Asia behind them, and Gabriel, Azazel, and Serafall's Queen, a petite, bespectacled, incredibly serious-looking Devil of Japanese origin named Nakano Takeko, standing before their respective delegations.
"Well, now...this is quite the line-up..." remarked the leader of the Pritani delegation, a tall, wisened-looking man with long, straight, age-streaked black hair, shimmering blue eyes that gave the impression they could see through anything, slightly pointed ears, and fair skin. His body was garbed in muted grey robes with a flowing, black, gold-trimmed cloak, black and gold-trimmed boots, and an ornate black belt carved with pale runes that faintly pulsed with the rhythm of a beating heart.
Scanning Vahn and his procession, the man, Aileen's grandfather, Kaiser Pritani, slowly clenched his scale-covered, Draconic hands, hidden within the long flowing sleeves of his Mage-like robes. He knew from observing Grayfia, Gabriel, the Angels, and, most recently, Tiamat that the Dragon's Pavilion had a significant military backing, but in his nearly 100,000 years of existence, he had never encountered a situation where he felt distinctly at a disadvantage...
'To think such powerful beings could exist outside Dragonkind...' thought Kaiser, his smiling gaze focused on Vahn but his senses probing Grayfia, Serafall, Azazel, Gabriel, Yasaka, Sairaorg, and, for a very brief moment, Lupheria, seated atop Jack-O's lap at the edge of the spacious ballroom everyone was gathered in. Inexplicably, the latter didn't have a powerful aura, but Kaiser's instincts told him she was the most significant threat to his being...as if she were his natural enemy or a predator that specialized in hunting Dragons...
"By allowing us to cultivate crops within the Black Tower, the Pritani Clan has done many of those gathered here a tremendous service," explained Vahn. "As such, the Representatives of the core factions of the Tripartite Alliance have gathered to express their gratitude along with the Dragon's Pavilion. Please accept these gifts, along with the heartfelt desire that the friendship between our realities will endure for as long as possible..."
As if in response to Vahn's words, several massive treasure chests filled with gold, jewels, and equipment harvested from the Corridor or acquired from his Shop appeared between him and the Pritani delegation. Beings at the level of the Great Black Dragons had little use for armaments, as their bodies, claws, and teeth were the most powerful weapons and armor, but those were mostly filler items they could regift to others. The centerpiece of the tribute was an elaborately carved wooden container separated into thirty-six compartments, each housing a crystalline vial of glistening, pale gold, rainbow-hued liquid.
"Hmm? What's this...?" asked Kaiser, sensing a peculiar energy from the crystalline vials, compelling him to pick one up and inspect it.
"It's—" started Vahn, barely getting the word out before Aileen, standing between her parents, Elizabeth, and a strikingly handsome man with short black hair and bright blue eyes, Anton Pritani, groaned, "How much longer are we going to stand around? Let's eat...!"
"By all means..." responded Vahn, offering a curt nod and half-turning his body, gesturing to the far side of the ballroom, where many circular tables for seating and several long tables full of food awaited.
"This girl..." sighed Elizabeth, cupping and massaging her forehead as her daughter, having never attended a formal event in her life, bypassed the treasures, grabbed Vahn's arm, and exclaimed, "Let's go, go, go~!" before pulling him along. Vahn was equally amused and taken aback by this, but thankfully, a quick exchange of glances with Venelana ensured that Kaiser and Aileen's parents would be properly attended in his absence...
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"My granddaughter is quite taken with you..." remarked Kaiser, meeting privately with Vahn in the naturalistic room containing a faux sun and his sensory deprivation chamber. The banquet was still underway, but after learning what was in the vials, he asked Venelana if she could arrange a meeting between them.
"And not a day goes by that I don't consider myself fortunate because of it..." responded Vahn, doing his best to match Kaiser's natural gravitas as they stopped to face each other at the base of two sets of mirrored stairs leading up to the faux sun and the second level of the lounge.
"I noticed that several women attending tonight's festivities are gestating exceptional young...should I expect our Aileen to become a mother in the near future?" questioned Kaiser, his brows creasing as he linked his scale-covered fingers within his sleeves.
"I would prefer to wait a while longer..." responded Vahn, exhaling faintly from his nose before shaking his head and conceding, "But I don't need to tell you how competitive Dragons can be. After tonight, I'm almost certain she will attempt to sneak me a Family Jewel Sprout. She has always had a keen interest in eating, but the growing number of texts related to cooking in her room is fairly telling..."
"I expect you're correct..." sighed Kaiser, closing his eyes and exhaling a faint but deeply exasperated sigh. Due to his long lifespan, it felt like only a few days had passed since Aileen first hatched from her egg, the first of their kind in thousands of years. Now, in what felt like the blink of an eye, she was mastering advanced magic that typically took their kind centuries and preparing to become a mother when most of her age would be taking their first steps into adolescence...
"But I believe you will do what you must to care for both her and the child you spawn..." stated Kaiser, meeting Vahn's gaze, his expression and tone serious as he asked, "Can you promise me that?"
"Without question," responded Vahn, nodding.
"Very good," affirmed Kaiser, offering a nod of his own before shifting his gaze to the faux sun above, his eyes reflecting a hint of melancholy as he stated, "This realm of yours is remarkable. Not only does it overflow with life, but there are no traces of the God of Destruction's corruption. I pray that our arrival has not brought it with us..."
"Then you're aware..." started Vahn, his eyes and tone softening as he commented, "Your species and presumably all Dragons from your reality have been cursed by God of Destruction. Specifically, your Clan suffers from the Curse of Sloth, resulting in you leading increasingly sedentary lifestyles..."
"Fortunately, the crops produced by the Dragon's Pavilion have largely ameliorated its effects..." revealed Kaiser, catching Vahn a little off guard. He was aware that Park Sejun's crops were what freed the Dragons from their compounding indifference in the canon timeline, but he remembered specific preparations being needed.
"The Family Jewel Sprouts, in particular, have been exceedingly effective in revitalizing the spirits of our elderly and young alike..." revealed Kaiser, glimpsing at Vahn from the corner of his left eye.
'Ah...' thought Vahn, a wry smile adorning his face as he responded, "I'm relieved to hear it..." in a trailing tone. The thirty-six vials he had prepared were Panaceas purchased from his Shop for 100,000 OP each, mixed with a small amount of his blood, but based on what Kaiser was saying, his gift was no longer necessary.
Seeing through Vahn's concerns, Kaiser smiled and revealed, "With your permission, we would like to research and mass produce the potions you entrusted to us. If they can be used to effectively treat those affected by the God of Destruction's corruption, they will prove invaluable in the fight to save our reality. You will, of course, be credited as the original creator and rewarded accordingly..."
Shaking his head, Vahn asserted, "I don't care about such things." Then, smiling, he added, "More to the point, they were yours to do with as you pleased from the moment I gave them to you. Not that I don't appreciate you asking."
"Ha! Then I suppose I ought to forgive you for stealing the heart of my granddaughter and whisking her away without permission..." hummed Kaiser, narrowing his striking, almost electric-blue eyes menacingly but with no actual hostility behind them.
"It would remove at least one anxiety from my plate..." responded Vahn, grinning cheekily.
"Hmph...it's no wonder my granddaughter was deceived by you. You're a brazen one..." noted Kaiser, narrowing his eyes for real but only briefly. Vahn had done too much for his world and Clan for him to hold a grudge or risk making an enemy out of him. His granddaughter would also resent him if he did anything to hinder her happiness, so after giving Vahn a very firm pat on the shoulder, he asked for a personal tour of the palace and its facilities...
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"I've been looking forward to this for a long time..." remarked Aileen, her expression and tone sensual as she sat atop Vahn, pinning him down with her hands on his shoulders. She had fully expected her grandfather to say no when she pulled on his arm and pleaded with him to be allowed to stay in the palace, but her concerns were evidently unwarranted as he readily consented, maintaining that it was only natural that she dwelled under the same roof as her future husband.
"Looking forward to what...?" asked Vahn, raising Aileen's bottom with his left hand and lining his glans up with her hot and leaky entrance, allowing her to seat herself while holding his gaze with a possessive glimmer in her blue eyes.
"I know I can't keep you to myself..." muttered Aileen, snaking her waist from side to side as she asserted, "But now that there's nothing keeping us apart, I want to be at your side as often as possible. I'll find a way to be of use to the Dragon's Pavilion, but if you have nothing better to do, I expect you to be doing me..."
"Within reason..." responded Vahn, smiling wryly as he bucked his hips. The narrowing of Aileen's eyes made it clear she wasn't totally satisfied with his response, but instead of compelling him to promise her, she bent down, extended her inordinately long, slightly pointed tongue, and licked him from his neck to his chin, determined to convince him with her actions in place of words...
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[December 15th DxD/August 7th DBT]
Though he was ordinarily indefatigable, Vahn couldn't help issuing a yawn as he sat on the sidelines, observing the martial arts and flight training of the Sisters with Koneko and Kuroka flanking him. Even the original Mikoto was participating in the drills after hearing about the training and stopping by to see the Sisters in action, but Vahn was moderately more focused on the exchange taking place on the ground, an intense and somewhat brutal wrestling match between Xenovia and Leone.
ding
'Hmmm...?'
Recognizing the faint ding as the notification sound of a high-priority but non-emergency message, Vahn promptly opened his Contacts, revealing it had originated from Yoruichi.
[It doesn't have to be now, but when you get time, can you hop over to my world? Kisuke says he wants to discuss our upcoming incursion into the Soul Society and possible countermeasures against Aizen and other threats.]
Though he had arranged to meet with Erza, the two Mirajanes, and Levy for an orgy after the training drills had concluded, Vahn didn't hesitate to respond affirmingly to Yoruichi. He had been secretly communicating with and providing things like hot cocoa and candy to Rukia ever since peeking in on her situation, but as days turned into more than a week, his desire to intervene in the world of Bleach grew. Orihime attempting to sway him by sending a selfie of her in her underwear was another reason, but that was as surprising to him as his existence would be to the Gotei 13...
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