EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 274: Resentment

Arriving at the conference room where Dragon and his cohort awaited his arrival, Vahn entered behind Venelana, followed closely by Grayfia. There, his gaze was immediately drawn to the towering, nearly seven-meter-tall Kuma and a notably buxom woman wearing scant, predominately red and pink attire with short purple hair in a bob cut, an open-front blouse with a red tie nestled between her breasts, a frilly skirt that was shorter than the length of a person's hand at the front and long in the back, and thigh-high lace stockings that flowed into long red boots.

'That's quite the outfit...' thought Vahn, briefly meeting the woman's pale green eyes through her red, purple-rimmed half-moon sunglass before he shifted his gaze to the guest of honor, a 256cm-tall man with a long mane of spiky black hair, a pronounced widow's peak, a crisscrossing red tattoo on the left side of his rugged, especially serious face. Notably, in place of the dark green cloak Vahn was expecting, he was adorned in a dark blue, nearly black suit and red tie, giving the impression he had dressed for the occasion.

"Dragon God Vahn Mason...on behalf of the Revolutionary Army, I thank you for allowing us to meet today and tour your palace. The capacities of the Dragon's Pavilion are as vast as they are wonderous..." stated Dragon, his voice serious, borderline solemn, as he offered a slow nod in place of a bow.

"Mmn...you don't seem particularly happy about it..." noted Vahn, sensing a deep, suppressed enmity from Dragon. It wasn't directed at him or the Dragon's Pavilion, per se, but more of a general scorn for those who lived in excess while others lived in squalor.

"The Dragon God is discerning..." noted Dragon, offering a cut nod before affirming, "But, rest assured. I harbor no resentment towards the Pavilion and am grateful beyond words for your assistance in the matter involving Kuma."

"Truly...if not for Dragon God-sama, I might have never been able to see my daughter again..." expressed Kuma, closing his eyes and bowing as far as his immense, disproportionate frame permitted.

"You've thanked me plenty, Batholomew-san. Please, raise your head," stated Vahn, offering a faint smile before shifting his gaze to the purple-haired woman, who he knew to be called Belo Betty, the Commander of the East Army. She had been sizing him up with her arms crossed and a lit cigarette, so he couldn't help saying, "Pardon me..." before pinching at the air with his right index finger and thumb, extinguishing the cigarette as he appended, "But it's not very considerate to be smoking in the presence of pregnant women..." in a warning tone.

"Jeez...you could have just asked me to put it out..." grumbled Betty, her standoffishness and tongue click earning her a warning look from Dragon. He would have preferred to bring his Chief of Staff, Sabo, for the meeting, but since the latter was on an important mission and they couldn't exactly ask Vahn to adjust his schedule around theirs, Betty was brought along at her insistence.

"Let's be seated," suggested Vahn, using his Domain to pull out Grayfia's and Venelana's chairs before they sat simultaneously. Once the trio from the Revolutionary Army had done the same, he added, "By now, you have been apprised of our offer. We will provide training, resources, and time to up to one hundred of your members. After they return, we will work with the Revolutionary Army, supplying logistical support and intel to ensure your revolution's success. In its wake, once you've overthrown the World Government and successfully implemented your own, your world will join our transdimensional network as a core reality."

"What does it mean to be a core reality...?" asked Dragon, his expression unchanging and voice gravelly as he maintained a stony, naturally piercing gaze on Vahn.

"If you're worried about tributes, taxation, and membership fees, you can rest assured," stated Venelana, smiling confidently as she appended, "We do tariff non-essential goods that use the Pavilion as an intermediary, but the rate is a fixed ten percent of the market value in Tower Coins—waived completely for your first ten years as an affiliate or member world. Beyond that, all we ask is that you champion the Dragon's Pavilion to your world's inhabitants for what it is—a transdimensional organization committed to maintaining the balance between worlds, facilitating trade, and supplying opportunities to those who seek them earnestly."

"Hmnn...I would be lying if I said I weren't suspicious..." admitted Dragon. "But the simple truth is that we can liberate and help many more people with the backing of the Dragon's Pavilion than without. I also agree with the reasoning that the inhabitants of a world should be able to address its issues themselves, so I will not criticize your inaction despite possessing the means to do much more..."

"You mean directly," countered Vahn, his expression devoid of its usual smile as he noted, "Because that certainly sounded like criticism..." with a disapproving frown.

"I ask for the Dragon God's patience and understanding..." stated Dragon, closing his eyes as he calmly expressed, "I have been fighting against my world's inequities and injustices for over thirty years. In that time, I have lost more comrades than most people will have encounters in their entire life. As such, when I witness people indulging in excess while the masses suffer, it enkindles the flames of revolution within my soul—a pyre formed from countless sacrifices..."

"Which is precisely why we're offering to support your organization over any other," affirmed Venelana, noticing Vahn's conflicted frown, prompting her to take over the discussion in his stead. It took considerable restraint on her and Grayfia's parts not to lambast Dragon for his remarks, as none were more burdened by his inaction than Vahn himself, but they couldn't expect Dragon to be aware of such internal struggles. All the latter knew was that the Pavilion had enough power to depose the World Government whenever they pleased but willfully refrained from doing so.

Nodding affirmingly, Dragon stated, "We'll need a few days to several months to contact and gather the people we'll be sending into this Room of Spirit and Time. If the Dragon's Pavilion assists us with their assembly, the process could be expedited considerably."

Closing his eyes, Vahn reinserted himself into the conversation, stating, "If you supply us with the names of each candidate, we can arrange for you to meet them here or at your headquarters. If they travel here, they could return to where they were pulled from. If we move them to Baltigo, that will be their destination upon their return."

"Considering we'll need to restructure our organization depending on the outcome of this training, having everyone at Baltigo is preferred," affirmed Dragon, rising to his feet as he added, "If there's nothing else, we will get on this matter at once. Thank you for your time. We will do what we can to ensure it isn't wasted in the future..."

'So all of this is because he's upset that I had him go on a tour and wait for me...' concluded Vahn, his eyelids parting as he outwardly responded, "You can return with Batholomew-san and submit the list to us through him once it's completed."

"Then, until we next meet...I wish you and yours a pleasant, uneventful life teeming with prosperity, Dragon God..." stated Dragon, a glimmer of contempt flashing across his eyes as he met Vahn's gaze one final time before turning around, prompting Kuma to offer a wry, apologetic smile before using the key he had been provided to open a nearly ten-meter tall white stone door leading back to Baltigo.

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing you," stated Betty, taking a moment to light her cigarette and defiantly exhale a ring of smoke before turning to follow after Dragon, making a dismissive peace sigh with her left hand and back turned.

"Thank you for meeting with us..." expressed Kuma, closing his eyes and offering Vahn a solemn, apologetic, and lingering nod before following his allies through the door. He would have liked to apologize on Dragon's and Betty's behalf, but since he knew why they acted as they did, all he could do was hope Vahn wasn't too offended by their behavior...

"I guess that's the kind of mentality you need to stand in opposition to a global power like the World Government..." remarked Vahn, waiting for the door Kuma had produced to disappear before speaking flatly. Fortunately for Dragon and Betty, he also knew why they behaved the way he did, so as annoyed as he was by their behavior, the only thing he took personally was the scantily clad woman's parting smoke exhalation. After all, it was basically her saying she didn't give a damn about the health of his unborn children...

"What would you like to do?" asked Grayfia, causing Venelana's brows to twitch as she was about to ask the very same question.

"Mmn...well, considering we set aside two hours for this and it barely took ten minutes, I suppose we have time to teem before I need to pick up and spend time with the kids..." stated Vahn, deliberately using the word teem in reference to Dragon's derisive parting remark.

"Then, allow me..." said Venelana, pushing the conference table with her left hand. The movement appeared casual, but the table was sent sliding across the room and crashing into the wall, allowing her to carefully kneel before him before sitting in an expectant seiza. At the same time, Grayfia stood up from her chair and positioned herself behind Vahn's, her elegant and proper Maid attire replaced by a considerably sexier variant that was as tantalizing as it was disconcerting with her noticeably pregnant belly...

'Yeah...there's no way I'm giving this up...' thought Vahn, sliding forward to the very edge of his chair and spreading his legs to make things easier for Venelana. Dragon's words had pricked at the guilt he harbored regarding his inaction, but since it was objectively best for the denizens of Invirtua to acquire the power to solve their own problems—a process the Dragon's Pavilion assisted with—he compartmentalized his frustration and focused on the two beautiful women before him...

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[February 3rd TST/September 26th DBT]

Though it wasn't his intention, Vahn spent the remainder of his protracted day spiting Dragon by playing with his adoptive children, meeting the girls from Fairy Tail for dinner and drinks, and closing the day with Koneko and Kuroka. Each interaction reinforced his determination to have the Pavilion act as enablers rather than enforcers, but when it came time for his daily meditation the next day, he found himself in a pensive state—suspended in his deprivation chamber with light-formed displays hovering before him, each depicting someone narratively significant in the world of One Piece...

Among those depicted, Vahn invariably found his deliberative gaze drawn to a young, fair-skinned girl with wine-red eyes and long pink hair fixed in a braid. She was only fourteen, but she was locked in a stone cell, forced to wear a metallic, gold, scale armor bikini that left little to the imagination and likely led to frequent wardrobe malfunctions as she was compelled to take part in gladiatorial combat.

Preempting Vahn's unspoken query, Sis explained (*She and Bonney were the first to receive invitations to the Tower from their world, but Rebecca unceremoniously refused hers—presumably believing it was a trick by the Donquixote Family to torture her with false hope. Also, while her situation is certainly concerning, the other Gladiators are under strict orders not to lay a hand on her outside of the coliseum and to lose to her in it. As such, despite her young age, she has thus far gone undefeated, earning herself the nickname Undefeated Woman—albeit derisively by those aware of the truth.*)

'If we approached her directly, she might be willing to accompany Bonney and the others into the Room of Spirit and Time...' contended Vahn. 'Then, once they emerge, Dressrossa can be the first island liberated by the task force. As the principal weapons supplier to their enemies, they have more than sufficient motivation to take the Donquixote Family out...'

(If that's what you wish to do, you know you have mine and many others' support) affirmed Sis. (But what will you do about her sister, Viola? As a de facto supporter of the Donquixote Family and Doflamingo's lover, even if it was to ensure Rebecca's protection in the coliseum, it's highly unlikely the Revolutionary Army would show her mercy.)

'Then we'll make them...' asserted Vahn, his eyes narrowing as one of the coliseum guards passing Rebecca's cell abruptly splashed water onto her with a bucket before laughing uninhibitedly at her expense. Thus, as the man walked away, Vahn placed a cast iron rake down where his foot was about to fall, causing him to step on its end and smack himself in the face, breaking his nose...

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