endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 107

After sending the messages, Hephaestus put away the parchment and quill before looking toward Vahn. Right now, he was sitting topless on the sofa and watching her with intrigue. Hephaestus smiled before leaving her desk and sitting next of Vahn on the couch. After she got comfortable, she pulled Vahn's head into her chest before gently patting his head. "You know Vahn, I was very worried about you. After your promise and healing my eye, the next time I see you is on a hospital bed. I feel like you're trying to worry me to death..."

Vahn was a bit flustered at first, but after hearing Hephaestus's soothing tone, he began to relax and enjoy the embrace. Of all the people that have held him, Vahn always felt the most comfortable with Hephaestus since she always seemed to show so much care for him. After a few minutes, she sighed before bringing Vahn's head to rest on her lap. "Tell me everything that happened in the dungeon..."

As she had been holding in for a while, Vahn was very relaxed and complacent. He began recounting everything he had done in the dungeon since he entered. He talked about how he killed monsters at the pantry to get revenge for Naaza, how he hunted monsters in the mist, and about his crusade against the Minotaurs. Hephaestus closed her eyes and tried to imagine everything that Vahn had experienced and matched it against her own experiences in the recent days. She could recall the excitement he had felt during certain events, and wondered what kind of battles he had gone through to grow so quickly.

Vahn continued his story, conveniently avoiding talking about the Juggernaut, and recounted how he saved a father that was protecting his two sons against a variant Wyvern. Hephaestus smiled and gently stroked his head; she felt very proud that Vahn was willing to save people instead of overlooking their troubles. After that, he told her about how he first arrived in Riviria and about his encounter with the 'Hounds of Anubis' and their young leader Rasui.

While speaking of the young chienthropes, Vahn actually began to feel embarrassed after remembering certain events. Hephaestus noticed his looked and asked, "What's wrong Vahn? Did anything else happen while they were tracking you?" Vahn took a deep breath and told Hephaestus how he had dealt with their 'attack'. He even mentioned how he had lodged arrows into the lower backs of two of the young girls and how awkward it was having to remove them later.

Hephaestus had conflicting feelings when Vahn mentioned having to pull arrows out of two young girls backsides. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or berate Vahn for his excessive behavior. After hearing that he used his [Hands of Nirvana] to heal their wounds, she almost wanted to squeeze his little head to alleviate her own rising emotions. She was glad he was being honest with her, but she didn't think he would casually say such embarrassing things.

Afterward, Vahn told Hephaestus about how he encountered a Wyvern and was able to tame it. Hephaestus was very impressed, as monster taming was an incredibly rare ability. When she heard that, after taming it, the monster even evolved, she was incredibly shocked. "Where is your 'Dragon' now? Did you leave it in the dungeon...?" Vahn shook his head and withdrew Fafnir's core from his inventory. Hephaestus received the core and began to inspect it only to discover that her god's eye couldn't actually see through the crystal.

Vahn explained how the crystal seemed to be able to contain Fafnir, and by channeling his energy into the core, he was able to materialize its body whenever he wanted. Once again, Hephaestus was incredibly shocked by the revelation and sighed before telling Vahn, "This is another thing you need to keep a secret...who knows about this?" Vahn answered, and after Hephaestus heard that the ace party of the Loki Familia knew about the secret, she nearly screamed in frustration after thinking about the future troubles.

Unfortunately for Hephaestus, her troubles were already beginning, as Vahn continued talking about his fight with the Goliath and meeting the Loki Familia on the 17th floor. Hephaestus originally thought he fought alongside them, but hearing that Vahn defeated the Goliath on his own, she didn't know what to feel. While she was shocked, sure, she was also slowly becoming numb to the surprises Vahn was giving her. She started to think that allowing Vahn to enter the dungeon alone had been a mistake in the first place...too many abnormal things happened around him.