<h4>Chapter 1808 Esction : Peace</h4>
Though the ever-strengthening storm had made things exceptionally difficult for most participating Regrs, it was nothingpared to what followed the sixteenth hour of thepetition. The rain had intensified to the point that venturing into it was like walking through a dense curtain of water; drastically increasing the water level as massive water spouts and colossal waves began devastating the terrain. At the same time, the Shinsu Density increased to such an extent that even the stronger participants began to have trouble breathing, forcing many to instantly drop out of thepetition whilst others sought shelter within their Lighthouses.
If it were just the Regrs on the battlefield being affected by the torrential downpour, that would have been one thing. To the horror of many, however, several massive storefronts began to develop throughout the 10th Floor’s Inner Tower. Heavy rain soon followed, forcing residents to seek shelter as regions dominated by bodies of water soon became floodins. Despite this, the Administrators made no attempt to interfere with thepetition. Instead, dozens of Rankers began to appear in the skies surrounding the battlefield as the Ruler of the Floor, a High Ranker named Celh, used his authority over the Floor’s Shinsu to iste the Space within the contracting barrier.
Unfortunately, while this was more than enough to prevent the expansion of the storm, it made the effect of Kyrie’s [Primordial Sea] even more powerful. The water level began to rise at an even faster rate, and, thanks to the strengthened barrier, not even a single drop was allowed to flow away. As a result, small hills and ruins were quickly submerged by the rising tide before the seventeenth hour hade to pass. Anyone who had failed to seek shelter in the mountains was quickly eliminated; and, by the time the first day hade to an end, more than 80% of the participating Regrs had been forced to abandon thepetition...
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With only 23,097 or the original 128,320 Regrs still remaining, Vahn lightly pat the top of Kyrie’s head, muttering, "That’s enough. Cough it up."
Though she seemed to greatly enjoy pping her wing-like pectoral fins to cause massive waves and water spouts, Kyrie didn’t hesitate to obey Vahn’s orders; a shudder passing through her body as she coughed up a glowing blue sphere. Shortly thereafter, she began to rapidly shrink to around ten meters in length as the runic patterns turning various parts of her body translucent returned to their original white coloration.
Caressing the top of Kyrie’s head, Vahn’s tone turned affectionate as he muttered, "Good girl...you did very well today. I’ll make sure to reward you plentilyter. For now, enjoy a nice, long, rest..."
Responding with a high-pitched purring sound, Kyrie’s body began to vibrate contentedly as she descended towards the quickly calming waters below. This allowed Vahn to hop down from her back, standing atop the surface of the water as if it were t ground as he pulled out her Master Ball, lightly tapping it against her snout as he whispered, "Return..."
With Kyrie safely stowed away in her Master Ball, the rain ceased almost instantaneously as the massive storm front above began to recede at an extraordinary pace. Shinsu had a tendency to disperse the moment it was no longer under the influence of a person’s will; so, now that Kyrie was enjoying a much-deserved rest, it wouldn’t be long before the clouds quickly faded away. As for the waters below, now appearing simr to a small sea, they would also begin to recede at some point. However, due to the shrinking barrier surrounding the battlefield, the water level would continue to rise until thepetition hade to an end.
Satisfied with his results, Vahn turned his attention towards an area of empty space as he asked, "Is it possible to leave the battlefield without relinquishing my qualifications for advancing to the next floor? If not, I’ll probably disappear for a short while until the preliminariese to an end. I’ll still be within the battlefield, but you won’t be able to sense me. Will that be a problem...?"
In response to Vahn’s inquiry, an androgynous-looking man with ashen-ck skin, pale-blue eyes, and steel-blue hair ented by matching feathers appeared out of thin air, answering, "Though it is a bit unorthodox, I’ll allow it. Were I to disqualify you at this point, there would be outrage amongst the various financiers and sponsors who have taken an interest in your strength. Your Shinheuh put on quite the disy..."
Though it felt like all his nerves were tensing up in response to the peculiar man’s words, Vahn still managed a light-hearted chuckle as he reached out his hands and replied, "Yeah, they’re amazing, aren’t they...?"
Following Vahn’s remark, Latias and Latios appeared out of thin air, nuzzling against his palms and surprising the High-Ranker enough to elicit a slight squinting of the eyes. Instead of inquiring about the duo, however, he just smiled before raising his own hand to press an invisible button as he said, "I look forward to seeing your performance during the Seeded Tournament...Vahn Aldrnari Mason..."
Without waiting for a response, the androgynous man, none other than the Ruler of the 10th Floor, Celh, teleported Vahn back to the Coliseum City. Then, with a wave of his hand, several massive trees erupted from beneath the sea’s surface, absorbing the Shinsu contained within before rapidly spreading through the battlefield. He knew most Regrs wouldn’t be able to venture through the dense field of Shinsu so he decided to simply remove it. After all, the preliminaries would be boring if everyone just sat around waiting for the water to rise without being able to do anything...
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Finding himself in roughly the exact same location as before, Vahn checked his Pocket to confirm that just under twenty-four hours had passed. If he had pushed Kyrie further, there was a chance he could have ended the entirepetition in under a day; but, understanding the tournament wasn’t scheduled to take ce until the end of the month, there was no particr hurry. He had managed to achieve one of his primary objectives so there was no harm in allowing the remaining Regrs a chance to shine.
With that in mind, Vahn manifested the Little Garden before promptly disappearing from the view of several prying eyes. He had nearly a month to kill and he intended to use every moment of it to the fullest. First a foremost, however, he teleported to thergeke located a few kilometers away from the Emerald Grove, Kyrie’s usual habitat.
Most of the Pokemon were morefortable in their ’True Forms’ so he had constructed habitats for each of them. This particr location was known as the Sapphire Lake, a deceptively deep body of water that was 3800m deep near the center, Kyrie’s resting area. She was mostfortable with atmospheric pressures ranging between 350~400 bar so he had constructed theke after hearing herin about feeling like a ’balloon’ whenever she was on the surface...
Though she didn’t mind being inside the Master Ball, as it was veryfortable, Kyrie still issued a high-pitched mewling as she dipped into the chilled waters of the Sapphire Lake before promptly turning belly up. In response, Vahn jumped onto her stomach, eliciting a low rumbling from deep inside of Kyrie’s body as he began to rub the soft underside of her belly. She was particrly fond of belly rubs, so, whenever she performed well, he made sure her to reward her plentily before she returned to the bottom of theke to rest.
With her wing-like pectoral fins happily sshing the water, Kyrie continued to issue a sound that resembled purring as Vahn took full advantage of the Law of Petting. He eventually got her to rx to the point that she began to sink into the water, body going limp as she blew bubbles from her mouth. It was only when she was fully submerged that he gave her one final pat, startling her awake before sending her off to rest near the abyssal ck center of theke...
Emerging from the water wearing nothing but a pair of form-fitting ck diving trunks, Vahn wasn’t surprised to find Latias, Latios, and Xerneas waiting patiently near the shoreline. What he did find a little strange was the fact that the twins were wearing peculiar white sukumizu with blue and pink ents.
Though this outfit perfectly suited Latias’ lithe and slender frame, especially with her white pigtails, it created a certain sense of incongruency seeing Latios wearing a simr outfit. Still, it was better than them both wearing men’s swimwear so Vahn decided not to try and correct them. Instead, he shifted his focus to Xerneas, sizing up her sporty ck one-piece that was ented with blue and gold before asking, "Did the three of you want to go swimming...?"
Being the most talkative of the trio, Latias happily pounced toward him, smiling radiantly as she happily eximed, "Nope! We just wanted to surprise you! Did it work!? Are you surprised~!?"
Chuckling in response to the spirited girl’s exmation, Vahn began to lightly caress her head as he answered in a carefree tone, "Indeed. I was very surprised. The three of you look very cute..."
Beaming in response to Vahn’s words, Latias hugged him as tightly as she could manage before promptly releasing him from her grasp. She had been lightly chastised by several residents of the Emerald Grove, so, unless she was in her True Form or receiving a reward, she tried her best not to be too clingy.
Nodding his head in approval, Vahn ruffled Latias’ satiny-smooth hair as he said, "Good girl. When we get back to the Emerald Grove, we’ll bake a cake together."
As one of the Temtes willfully created by Vahn, Latias hadn’t inherited his mastery over [Hands of Nirvana] and [Cooking]. She was still capable of using both, but there was a very distinct difference between her capabilities and those possessed by his earlier Temtes. This had be even more prominent after she developed her True Ego but that didn’t stop her from enjoying baking. She was especially fond of being able to wear a frilly apron, and, though many of her experiments ended in disaster, she had been learning how to make and decorate tiered cakes as ofte.
Unable to contain her excitement, Latias stamped her feet a few times before leaping into the air and reverting to her True Form. Then, after flying several close circles around Vahn, she picked him up in her embrace, hugging him tightly as she spun around like a top. It was a little disorienting, but, having grown ustomed to her outbursts of excitement, Vahn just smiled wryly until Latias returned him to the ground and nuzzled her face against the underside of his chin...
After finally escaping his most excitable Pokemon’s grasp, Vahn made his way over to where Latios and Xerneas were waiting. The former just presented his head obediently, a calm smile on his face as he epted his reward with a contented squint. He was a lot more reserved than his sister, and, unless spoken to directly, it was pretty rare to hear the androgynous boy speak. Despite this, he was a remarkably intelligent young man, and, though he had a propensity for wearing women’s clothes, he could be extremely ruthless and decisive if he thought his ’little sister’ was in danger.
Vahn knew Latios’ personality was the result of him essentially recycling Latias’ Temte without giving it much thought. The only real personality trait he had given the boy was a strong desire to protect his younger sister, so, with the exception of that singr characteristic, he was effectively a clean te. Because of this, Vahn did his best to educate and guide the boy, teaching him all kinds of things so that he could better fulfill what he believed to be his ’purpose’.
Fortunately, Latias’ innocence and curiosity had also carried over to Latios, so, while he was a very quiet and reserved boy, he was easily excited by new things. He just didn’t show it in the same way as his younger sister, often leaving her to explore new regions and experience new things while he did his best to support and protect her. As for his own curiosity, he satisfied his urges by reading a plethora of books and devoting himself to schrly pursuits, two things his younger sister simply didn’t have the attention span for...
After fluffing up Latios’ hair for the better part of a minute, Vahn gave it one final ruffle before retracting his hand and shifting his attention to Xerneas. She had been standing at the side with her hands neatly folded across herp since the very beginning, her graceful elegance never fading for even a moment. Really really did radiate an aura of majesty, and, though her inordinately slim frame gave her an appearance simr to a perfectly crafted doll, she possessed the charms of a beautiful young woman.
Though he knew he wouldn’t get much of a reaction from her, Vahn adopted an appreciative smile as hemented, "That swimsuit suits you well. You look very beautiful."
With the briefest hint of a smile appearing on her otherwise expressionless face, Xerneas bowed in a polite manner, saying, "Thank you for your kind words." before raising her head and standing still as a statue.
Having grown used to Xerneas’ curt acknowledgments and unwavering elegance, Vahn just smiled in response before reaching out both hands and stroking the sides of her head. She might not give a ’satisfying’ response, but he knew she liked it when he scratched behind her ears and dug into the area around her crown. He just needed to be careful not to mess up her hair or else she would give him the silent treatment for several days...
After making sure there wasn’t a single strand of hair out of ce atop Xerneas’ head, Vahn gave a curt nod of his own before saying, "I’lle by and visit the Forest of Eternity in a few hours. Make sure to rest properly."
Nodding her head in affirmation, Xerneas promptly returned to her deer-like form before bounding over the treeline with extreme speed. She was the type to idle about, so, the moment he told her to go rest, that is exactly what she intended to do. As for Latias and Latios, they were already waiting in their true forms; so, after following Xerneas’ departure with his gaze, Vahn smiled back at them and said, "Let’s go home..." in a gentle tone.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’110% maximum no-chill...!’,’Everyone loves belly rubs (OwO)...’,’I kind of feel bad for Latios xD...’)
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