EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 313: Taking a Step Back

Following their most recent union, Vahn and Lisanna were soaking and drinking together in a cozy artificial hot spring encircled by stone when the latter softly remarked, "This week has been nice. You could benefit from learning the meaning of restraint, but it was nice feeling wanted..."

"That’s how I always feel..." contended Vahn, drawing Lisanna closer to him by her waist and gently bumping his forehead against her left temple as he confided, "I’m just...severely outnumbered..."

"Yeah...I know..." sighed Lisanna, closing her eyes and resting her head against Vahn’s shoulder as she muttered, "I knew going into things that our relationship wouldn’t be like a normal boyfriend and girlfriend. And to be honest, I expected us to have sex the one time before I confessed to Natsu and strongarmed him into becoming my boyfriend..."

Though he was tempted to contend that was still an option, Vahn kissed the top of Lisanna’s head and muttered, "I’m glad you didn’t...I know I’ve spread myself a little thin and that you deserve someone who can cherish you every hour of every day, but I’m glad you’ve given me this chance. It won’t always be easy, but I promise to do what I can to care for and make you happy..."

"I wouldn’t be here if that weren’t the case," retorted Lisanna, raising her head to reveal a mischievous, cat-like smile. There were many things she was dissatisfied with concerning her and Vahn’s relationship, but the vast majority had names. If all other women were removed from the equation, he was an exceedingly caring, passionate, and dutiful lover who listened when she spoke, yearned for her body, and did everything in his power to provide for and please her. In those regards, he was perfect...

"But I won’t lie to you, Vahn..." appended Lisanna, returning her head to Vahn’s shoulder as she revealed, "I’m not certain how long this will last. Because, while I like you, I know your harem will continue to grow. More than that, I’ve never been a particularly ambitious woman. I’ve never felt the need to be surrounded by wonder and luxury to be happy. I just want a family, a home I can call my own, and someone who loves me for who I am..."

"I can provide all of that..." affirmed Vahn, his voice faint as he rested his cheek atop Lisanna’s head and conceded, "But I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve often thought that those I’m with would be happier in a relationship with someone who valued them alone. But at the same time, I cherish and want to make each of you happy. So, until the moment arrives when you leave my side, I will value you as a priceless treasure. And even if there should come a time when our paths diverge, know that I will never stop wanting you to be happy..."

"That’s not the reassurance you think it is..." sighed Lisanna, leaving Vahn at a slight loss until she explained, "It varies, but most women want a man who’s willing to fight for them, Vahn. It’s fine to want to support us even if we break up, but you should never say it during a relationship. It gives the impression you’re okay with it, which makes it seem like you’re not all that invested..."

"I see...I never thought of it that way..." muttered Vahn, raising his gaze to the virtual world’s night sky and its countless stars. One would think that with his significant experience, he would know what to say at such a time. But as his mind processed Lisanna’s words, he found himself increasingly at a loss.

"Well, if it’s any comfort, I’m not planning to leave you..." stated Lisanna, placing her left hand on Vahn’s inner right thigh and slowly caressing it as she added, "I enjoy our time together, and I doubt anyone could make me feel as complete as when our bodies become one. I’m just thinking ahead, ten, twenty, or even a thousand years..."

"Then I should cherish every moment until then..." asserted Vahn, placing his left hand on Lisanna’s lower abdomen and causing it to vibrate faintly as he nestled his face between her head and shoulder to kiss her neck. It was already past the scheduled time of their return, but since ten hours in the virtual world was only one outside, prolonging their stay an extra hour or two wouldn’t make that significant a difference...

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"Mmn....this Lisanna sounds like a very pragmatic young lady..." remarked Venelana, combing her fingers through Vahn’s hair in much the same way as Rias as she asked, "Does it bother you? The prospect that those you’re close to now will one day be close to others?"

"Honestly...I’m not sure how I feel..." confessed Vahn, absentmindedly caressing Venelana’s pregnant belly as he explained, "I don’t want to lose anyone, but I also understand that it’s unreasonable to expect everyone I enter into a relationship with to remain with me indefinitely. An eternity is a long time, and if those I love can find happiness elsewhere, I want them to be happy..."

"Your compassion knows no bounds..." muttered Venelana, her expression softening as she ran her gloved fingers through Vahn’s thick but silky hair and stated, "But I can promise you this. No matter how much time passes, I will be here to comfort, heed, and console you. That is both my vow and my privilege as your first wife..."

"That’s enough to keep me going indefinitely..." affirmed Vahn, closing his eyes and kissing Venelana’s pregnant belly. At the same time, her position in his heart shifted quite a bit, placing her right alongside Grayfia, Sis, and his mother as the most important women in his life...

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After finishing up his morning routine and dropping by the workshop to find it empty, Vahn took advantage of the solitude to spend four hours preparing ingots for future projects. Methodically hammering metal was surprisingly therapeutic, and though he could prevent it if he wanted, he enjoyed working up a sweat.

"This is the workshop of the great Dragon God? It’s a little low tech, don’t you think...?" asked a brash, womanly voice emanating from the entrance of the workshop. When Vahn looked over, he was moderately surprised to see Lilith, standing more than two meters tall with a broad grin, short and messy white hair, crimson eyes, and an even more voluptuous body than he remembered. Then again, she had traded her usual pink bodysuit for a white crop top with the characters LILITH displayed across her breasts in red lettering, white bikini bottoms, and a white, red-trimmed hoodie jacket and boots. In all likelihood, her physical proportions hadn’t changed. They just stood out a lot more.

"I’ve decided to learn blacksmithing from scratch and gradually work my way up," explained Vahn, making no effort to conceal his appreciation of Lilith’s current appearance as he sized her up with his right brow slightly raised.

"Isn’t that a waste of both time and resources?" questioned Lilith, boldly making her way across the workshop until she stood towering over the seated Vahn with her hands on her hips, intentionally within his personal space. There, she hooked her thumbs under the elastic band of her bikini bottoms and hiked them up her hips, forming a V-shape and giving herself a frontal wedgie as she argued, "Progress is achieved when those who’ve acquired knowledge and skills bestow it to others, allowing them to build atop an ever-growing foundation. There is merit to figuring things out for yourself, but unless you’re pioneering a new path, you’re wasting time that could have been spent innovating on existing breakthroughs."

"A reasonable argument..." affirmed Vahn, rising to his feet to stand over Lilith as he reasoned, "But if you constantly build upon the foundation of others, you have no way of knowing if there are unseen cracks created by people cutting corners. To that end, it’s wiser to reference the foundation of others but construct your own..."

"Are we fucking or what...?" asked Lilith, leaving Vahn at a brief loss even though it wasn’t her first time propositioning him.

"I highly doubt that’s why you’ve come all this way..." countered Vahn. At the same time, causing Lilith’s challenging grimace to morph into a broad grin, he slid his hands along her outer thighs, grazing them with the tips of his fingers before cupping her exceptionally round bottom and drawing her closer so that her crotch nestled against his bulge.

"That’s not entirely true..." contended Lilith, giving Vahn’s butt a recipricol squeeze and wiggling her hips as she revealed, "But you’re not wrong. I’m here regarding your inquiry into monsters developing self-awareness. It’s a subject Stella and that arrogant prick Shaka have been researching, but I’m aware of their findings and volunteered to come over."

"And what have they found?" asked Vahn, causing Lilith’s pupils to briefly contract as he abruptly teleported them to his room, specifically in front of an ivory white leather sofa. There, he slid his hands from her butt and sat down with his hands slightly spread, wordlessly inviting her to either straddle or sit with her back to him.

Choosing a third option, Lilith grinned before removing her boots with a mechanical hiss and slowly slipping out of her bikini bottoms by swaying her broad, hourglass hips from side to side. Then, sitting on the wooden table between Vahn’s furniture, she leaned back onto her palms, spread her legs open and closed, and answered, "According to the old man, the phenomenon primarily applies to humanoid monsters and those with high Intelligence and Wisdom. The baseline seems to be C-Rank for the former and D-Rank for the latter, but it varies from species to species and usually begins with one or more monsters within a biome acquiring a name."

"The monster I encountered had also acquired a name..." confirmed Vahn, allowing himself a glance at Lilith’s pristine, completely hairless pussy and the inverted, triangular-shaped barcode with the letters Punk-02 tattooed to her mons—a holdover from when she was still a Satellite.

"What do you want to do about it...?" asked Lilith, leaning onto her elbows and spreading her legs wide as if inviting Vahn to make his move.

"I haven’t decided..." responded Vahn. "On the one hand, I’m curious to see how the monsters would develop if left to their own devices. On the other, I would feel personally responsible if they structured their society and prospective civilization around destruction..."

Realizing that Vahn wasn’t going to come to her, Lilith shifted forward, got up from the table, and climbed onto his lap, straddling him with her hands slipping under his fire-resistant shirt to caress his sides as she stated, "If you’re asking for my opinion, I say you allow matters take their course. As much as it would suck to have to destroy them, you never know what will arise from intelligence developing independently. A species that starts as warmongers could turn into a society of pacifists in the distant future. And as the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities, shouldn’t you advocate for that kind of thing...?"

"It’s worth considering..." affirmed Vahn, raising Lilith’s bottom with his left hand, unequipping his pants, and guiding his glans to her warm, soft, and increasingly glistening pussy. He hadn’t planned to have sex with her anytime soon, but as a healthy man, he couldn’t simply turn a blind eye to a beautiful woman grinding against him with her exposed pussy. That, and he was curious to experience how the Great King’s Piece had affected her directly...

"Good. Now let’s see what all the fuss is about..." said Lilith, adopting a toothy grin as she gripped Vahn’s right shoulder with her left hand and proactively wiggled and lowered her hips. At first, there was an almost insurmountable amount of resistance, but before Vahn could adjust his size, Lilith produced a cylindrical bottle of warm, extremely slippery pink lube that had been preheated to match her body temperature. After that, they were off to the races...

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