Chapter 1173 - Valley

Though she would have normally been training Mordred around this time, as Artoria took her daughter's training very seriously, today was an obvious exception to the norm. Since she was intending to accompany Vahn pretty much everywhere he went, Artoria had been waiting for his arrival after having sent Mordred to stay with Rin and Sakura the previous night. Thus, when Vahn arrived, Artoria was dressed and ready to go as he set the unconscious Gray to sleep in their shared bed. From there, the two moved outside to seek out Luvia and Da Vinci, walking hand-in-hand with no particular rush.

Using the peaceful quiet as an opportunity, Artoria's curiosity ultimately got the best of her, leading to her asking, "How is she...?" Since Gray looked up to her quite a bit, while Artoria had become rather fond of her distant Descendent, she knew the former had a number of deeply rooted trauma. Though she could tell that Gray was a lot happier than before, as there had been a smile on her face when Vahn tucked her into the bed, Artoria couldn't help being a little curious.

Without putting too much thought into his answer, Vahn gave a brief summary of what Gray had gone through, much of which Artoria had already been made aware of. When he explained what the ceremony last night represented, leaving out the juicier details, Artoria didn't even seem all that surprised. Instead, she had a relieved look on her face, followed by a brief moment where she just rested her head on his shoulder, muttering, "That's good..." in a sincere tone of voice...

After Vahn had been 'late' for their departure, Luvia had decided to push her luck a bit, seeking out Da Vinci to see what the latter was up to. Of all the people present within the castle, Da Vinci practically screamed 'good investment' so, while most of the other residents had the wherewithal to not bother her, Luvia felt compelled to at least build some rapport with the Castle's 'Minister of Innovation', the official title Da Vinci had decided for herself a few months prior. She didn't care about things such as status but, understanding what kind of place Vahn wanted to make Avalon, Da Vinci would rather secure her position early so that others wouldn't be able to complain about her making changes around the island...

Unfortunately for Luvia, though she managed to find the location of Da Vinci's and Vahn's shared Workshop, she had been left standing in the corridor after failing to gain entry into the Armory of Camelot. Though there was an intricately designed mechanical owl posted outside of the sealed chamber, she had tried calling out to Da Vinci a few times, only for the owl to tilt its head at her and remain absolutely silent. It was only when she was about to give up that the owl suddenly replied, startling Luvia slightly before causing her to feel rather embarrassed when it answered, "I do not appreciate being interrupted from my work for political and social matters. Please do not come here in the future. If there is a matter of import, you need only relay the message to Vahn and he will contact me on your behalf."

Though Da Vinci didn't dislike Luvia, as she didn't really dislike anyone, she would rather avoid having to deal with her directly. Luvia gave off a similar aura to the same annoying individuals that had troubled her so often in the past. She gave off the very distinct presence of someone who treated all interactions like business transactions, constantly seek benefits. Since Vahn provided her with pretty much everything she needed, including material and companionship, Da Vinci would rather not play games with Luvia. Even if the latter became Vahn's official Empress, she had no intention of humoring her and, if Luvia actually tried to pressure her, Da Vinci would complain directly to Vahn, fully confident that he would protect her.

After hearing the owl utter a response in Da Vinci's voice, Luvia had tried to say a few kind words, expressing that she only wanted to get to know the Omniscient Genius better, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Ultimately, Luvia could only shake her head in defeat, turning back once again, walking down the path that Vahn and Artoria were taking to intercept her. When she encountered the two, Luvia's face shifted from a troubled expression into an enthused look as she exclaimed in a happy tune, "Vaaahn~." Then, moving to the side opposite Artoria, Luvia grabbed Vahn's arm, rubbing her cheek against him enthusiastically as she complained, "Da Vinci is a meanie...even though I came all this way to speak with her, the only response I got was from an owl..."

Though she didn't expect Vahn to take her side, Luvia was a little surprised when he shook his head and sternly answered, "You should not trouble Da Vinci in the future. Other than when I overwrite her decisions, she has complete autonomy and freedom of movement within the Empire. I understand why you may have taken an interest in her but you have to remember the kind of life she had been forced to live in the past. For now, try interacting with her when she isn't focused on her work...as for other times, that workshop is off limits unless Da Vinci herself invites others inside..."

Even though it was their shared workshop, the difference in the amount of time Vahn and Da Vinci spent inside made it feel as if he just borrowed it on occasion. Thus, in the interest of protecting her work and avoiding interruptions, he allowed her to restrict access to the workshop at her leisure. She could even kick him out if there was something that required her full focus, though this had only happened a single time in the past. He was actually the first 'victim' of Da Vinci's owl, being denied entry into the workshop when she had first started excavating the chamber housing her bodies, Ark's Nexus, and other more sensitive projects...

Without harping on the matter for even a moment longer, keenly aware of when and where to push boundaries, Luva answered Vahn with an understanding nod before leaning against his shoulder, an elegant smile on her face. She knew that, by having some influence over Vahn, it wouldn't be that difficult to benefit from Da Vinci's genius. By using her husband-to-be as an intermediary, having him develop an interest in some of the projects her companies had been working on for the last couple of years, it wouldn't be long before her efforts bore fruit. Until then, the only thing that really mattered was the time she got to spend with Vahn, especially after that world-shattering experience she had been put through previously...

---

Since she had only been working on a smaller project while waiting for Vahn's arrival, Da Vinci was already waiting for them outside the workshop when the trio arrived. This caused Luvia's smile to twitch at the edges but, unless you were someone as perceptive as Vahn and Da Vinci, it would have been impossible to discern her mild annoyance. Fortunately for her, neither decided to draw attention to the matter as Da Vinci smiled teasingly as she mused, "How heartbreaking, to see the man of my dreams first thing in the morning, only to find that both his arms have already been claimed by others~." As she was in her mature form right now, Da Vinci's body seemed to radiate s.e.x appeal and, with her [Golden Rule: EX], even Artoria and Luvia were slightly taken aback by her presence.

Unfortunately for Da Vinci, neither girl vacated their spot, leaving her smiling in a manner that didn't quite reach her eyes as she asked, "Are we going to be departing soon?" Though this question was unnecessary, as Vahn wouldn't have come to retrieve her otherwise, Da Vinci was simply using it as a means to transition back to the subject. Vahn understood this well, answering with an affirmative nod before adding, "We just need to move to the transfer location and we'll be on our way. Do you have everything you need...?" This was also an unnecessary question, as Da Vinci was 'always' prepared, but Vahn felt inclined to ask for the benefit of Luvia and Artoria as even the latter only interacted with the reclusive Genius on a few occasions.

In response to Vahn's inquiry, Da Vinci had an understanding light flash across her eyes, drawing attention to the large mechanical backpack she was wearing by shifting it slightly. Her staff was also neatly slotted into one of the sockets as, even without wielding it directly, Da Vinci was able to use it as a catalyst in conjunction with the other components of her exoskeleton.

Though not nearly as developed as the version she had made for her more youthful counterpart, which could form a literal mecha at this point, Da Vinci's current loadout consisted of a large mechanical arm, an almost unbreakable shield generator, levitation capabilities, and powerful thrusters that would allow her to fly around for short periods of time. This particular form also boasted a monstrous 50A++ Endurance, effectively making Da Vinci indestructible so long as she had enough Magical Energy to sustain her body. The fact she had developed such a body just to have s.e.x with him was a secret Vahn kept locked away in his heart...

The most notable addition to Da Vinci's loadout was the fact that the upgraded Skoll was seated snuggly in the second socket on the left side of her large mechanical pack. It gave her ethereal beauty a somewhat adorable quality as, with the tiny Skoll's large ears drooping in its charging state, it was hard to look at Da Vinci seriously. Both Luvia's and Artoria's eyes glimmered, even though the latter had interacted with the original Skoll often. The latter had been universally accepted within the Castle as, likely due to the existence of some abstract Law, cute things could be considered a weakness to proud Emperors like Vahn and stoic warriors like Siegfried...

If not for the fact he had a woman on each arm, Vahn couldn't have been able to resist petting the adorable creature. He even felt a small amount of blame towards Artoria as, with one of her hands free, she committed a small faux pas by extending her hand to rub its fluffy ears. Da Vinci didn't mind this much at all as, with her invention serving its intended purpose, she felt a great deal of pride knowing that even a woman as noble as Artoria couldn't resist Skoll's cuteness factor. As for Luvia, Da Vinci had a teasing light in her eyes as, due to the former's position, it would require her to release Vahn's arm if she wanted to pet Skoll V2. If she took the bait, Da Vinci would steal the spot for herself, something Luvia understood instinctually as she tightened her grip on his arm...

---

Since Fenrir had been tasked with protecting Mordred and Sakura while he was away, Vahn, Da Vinci, Artoria, and Luvia all made their way to the room used for spatial transfers. Though they could transfer from pretty much anywhere, this room had very powerful barriers in place that, under normal circ.u.mstances, would make it impossible to trace spatial coordinates. This was a countermeasure to prevent their enemies from discovering the location of Avalon and breaking directly into the castle in the future, even though the ancient defenses of the Castle would curb most attempts outright. Still, it never hurt to err on the side of caution, Vahn enforced the practice that all spatial transfers would occur in the same location, the obvious exception being during emergencies...

When everyone was ready, indicated by how they had all linked their hands together in a circle, Vahn had Alaya transfer them to a safe area outside of Type: Mercury's dominion. Though it was currently inactive, awaiting the fated day when the other Types would descend upon Gaia's surface, that didn't mean it was safe to approach. Over the course of seven-thousand years, there had been an endless number of individuals and organizations who had tried to gain control over the slumbering creature. In every such instance, regardless of the power they possessed, the only fate that awaited their efforts was death and devouring.

What little Vahn knew about Type: Mercury, other than its origin obviously being from the planet Mercury, was that it had a trait that allowed it to acquire the skills and abilities of anything it had devoured. Some of its notable victims had been a Saintess, a Dead Apostle Ancestor, and even the Aztec War Deity, Huītzilōpōchtli. Now, according to the information he had acquired, Vahn knew that Type: Mercury was worshipped as the 'Great Spider Goddess' by a native tribe in the area which, over the course of thousands of years, had made the area outside of Type: Mercury's dominion their home.

Though Type: Mercury was genderless by default, the fact that it enriched the surrounding area, making it fertile, had caused the tribe worshipping it to praise it as the Goddess presiding over everything from Fertility, Harvest, Rain, Dreams, Protection, and anything else 'beneficial' to their time-locked culture. Vahn, however, wasn't all that interested in them and, though he felt a little guilty about 'stealing' their Goddess away, it was rather ironic to him that they worshipped one of the creatures fated to annihilate mankind. More than any other Type recorded in the information he had collected, Mercury seemed 'extremely' aggressive when it came to the slaughtering of people, assimilating almost all life on the South American Continent in a short few days after its awakening. If not for the fact that the Types all had their own Territory during the annihilation of mankind, it very likely would have wiped out the entire global population in just a few short months, bacteria and microbes included.

Knowing he was about to gain such a terrifying entity as his ally, Vahn didn't blame Da Vinci for her caution as, prior to entering the area designated by Magi as the 'Crystal Valley', she set up a large amount of equipment to take measurements. Then, after entrusting Skoll V2 to Vahn, she and the others waited outside as, until he had confirmed that it was safe, having Artoria and Luvia enter could be a death sentence. Though Da Vinci herself would be fine, as the destruction of a single body was nowhere near enough to take her down, Vahn wanted to avoid a situation where Type: Mercury managed to devour a body with the [Golden Rule: EX] skill. Since it was able to perfectly emulate the life it had devoured, Vahn wanted to just nip that potentiality in the bud outright...

As if he had stepped into a completely different world, Vahn found himself surrounded by tall crystalline spires, each emanating a variety of different colors as powerful energy radiated from their surfaces. Since the dominion of Type: Mercury was essentially a Reality Marble, the space within was much larger than he expected, forming a massive crator that was around 7km wide. It sloped downward at a steep angle, jagged and razor-sharp covering almost every surface, cutting through his boots as if they were paper mache. Vahn even found that it was almost impossible to use his telekinesis within this space, forcing him to slowly meander through the air as he made his way into the network of crystal spires, some of which were more than two-hundred meters tall.

Though Vahn felt he was being watched from the moment he entered into the space, there had been no movements or attacks of any sort. It was rather perturbing to venture into such an alien landscape where, even with his enhanced perception from living within the Ivory Castle, Vahn was unable to sense even a few dozen meters into the surrounding surfaces. As Type: Mercury was not only a Tier 5 existence, but operated under a completely different set of Laws than he was used to, Vahn was moving forward blindly. The only thing he knew for certain was, even without the ability to sense it directly, a phenomenally powerful energy signature was radiating from the heart of the Crystal Valley. It made absolutely no effort to conceal its presence, acting as if there was nothing in the world that could threaten it...

After descending to the center of the valley, Vahn found himself in an area that had several large holes that formed a network of tunnels extending deep beneath the surface. The network was somewhat similar to an ant's nest, having several chambers full of energy-rich crystals that, while not comprised of mana, gave off an incredible amount of energy. Vahn could even sense invasive energy trying to flow into his body, something he knew either indicated the presence of unknown Laws, or something akin to radiation. Fortunately, he was completely immune to the effects of this energy, allowing him to pass freely into the complex network of chambers as he moved further below the surface...

Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes of traversing the passages, Vahn found himself in a large hollow that was more than one hundred meters from floor to ceiling. It also had a diameter of around four-hundred meters while, still being comprised of crystals, a dense rainbow-network of 'web' spread throughout the entire chamber. At the very center of this web, a forty-meter tall figure dominated the scene, standing completely motionless without even the subtlest hint of movement.

Appearing vaguely like a hybrid between a spider and a humanoid, covered in a shimmering exoskeleton that was made of a completely indiscernible metal, Type: Mercury had a dominating presence. This was emphasized by the fact that it had several vaguely head-shaped crowns, each tipped with four sharp horns, while every appendage of its body seemed like an impossibly sharp blade. Its front appendages were almost like a combine harvester, comprised of a series of blades that gave the distinct impression it could reap countless lives just by moving around. With two vicious, scythe-like protrusions sticking out of its sides, each nearly 30m in length, Vahn felt like he was looking at a creature that existed for the sole purpose of harvesting lives.

Though it hadn't moved at first, Type: Mercury eventually responded to Vahn's intrusion by shifting out of his vaguely humanoid appearance. The disc-like protrusion that gave it an almost godly visage while standing turned into a large thorax while the blade-like legs all extended outward, forming an appearance akin to a massive spider, each of its eight legs having several segmented blades that could very likely cut through the hardest of armored plating. Fortunately, though it appeared to be entering into an 'attack mode', Type: Mercury moved toward Vahn with a 'casual' pace, it's bladed legs nimbly navigating the crystal web as it came to a stop right in front of him.

Looking up at the titanic creature, Vahn momentarily had the impression that he was an ant looking at the descending foot of a human. Regardless of this illusion, his expression remained calm as he plainly stated, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor and the entity known as Type: Omega. If you can speak, introduce yourself..." Since he supposedly had the authority to order every other type, Vahn chose the route of burying his instinctual fear and getting directly to the point.

Without showing any hostility, or any other emotions for that matter, Type: Mercury's 'eyes' began to shimmer slightly as it telepathically replied, "Name...ORT...classification...Type: Mercury..." With a rather deep voice, likely belonging to one of its incalculable victims, ORT gave Vahn a distinctly 'male' impression, causing him to feel quite a bit of relief. Though it was impossible to shake off the impending sense that he would be devoured at any moment, Vahn was able to largely ignore this as he stated, "I will require your assistance in the future. Though I will not ask you to leave this valley, I need a way to contact you during an emergency. I don't want to feel as if I'm just using you for my own ends, I'd like you to split off a fragment of yourself so we can get to know each other better..."

Vahn didn't know if ORT possessed the ability to split itself into parts but, considering even Tier 4 entities could manage this with relative ease, a Tier 5 entity shouldn't have any trouble. Curiously, however, ORT just extended one of its extremely long, blade-like, legs in response to his words. It had a dexterity that was almost impossible to comprehend given its size as it used the very tip of its appendage to poke Vahn's forehead. All of this took place in ten microseconds, giving Vahn no time to react as an emerald-green crystal appeared in the center of his forehead. At the same time, ORT stated, "Fragment...tracking...communication..."

Though the crystal had failed to embed itself into Vahn's flesh outright, it had tiny little spines on the ends that allowed it to cling to his forehead without falling off. Fortunately, when Vahn moved to remove it, the fragment didn't resist at all. Since it would be rather inconvenient to walk around with a gemstone embedded in his forehead, even if it was only around the size of a grain of rice, Vahn placed it beneath the dense hair behind his ear. He assumed that ORT hadn't placed itself near his head without reason so, even though there was a momentary pinch, Vahn didn't mind it all that much.

Afterward, ORT moved back to the center of its web while, echoing with his head, Vahn heard it utter, ("Share...senses...observe...learn...protect..."). This caused Vahn to feel rather at ease but, remembering his training sessions with Scáthach, he produced a wry smile before remarking, ("Do not take action unless I specifically ask you to. Even if this body is destroyed, I will not be in danger of losing my life. Since your protection would interfere with my growth, just continue to observe for the time being..."). As the last thing he needed was ORT slaughtering the Association Director during their upcoming confrontation, Vahn made it very clear that he didn't want it to interfere without direction, at least until it understood 'when' to act. Fortunately, as it's intelligence seemed to be in the 'developing' stages, ORT didn't argue against him at all, simply responding with a curt, ("Understood...") before falling silent...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Da Vinci gives no f.u.c.ks xD...','Cuteness Laws are Supreme','Everything went better than expected...?')

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