Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With the topic in his chambers revolving around the relationship between Boudica and Nero, the Vahn meeting with Merlin figured it was as good a time as any to learn more himself. He already had a decent understanding of Solon’s character from their past conversations so, after creating a lull, he shifted topics, asking, "You must know it, correct? Nero’s past? You would not have gone out of your way to convince everyone otherwise."

Since he already expected this transition, Merlin wasn’t caught off guard by Vahn’s words. Instead, he continued to smile in his usual manner before waving his hand through the air, answering, "Be that as it may, Your Majesty, I do not believe it is my place to reveal Nero’s secrets. Someone like Solon is a special exception as, at the time, they could have been considered a threat to the Empire. The time will come when Nero reaches out to you on her own. When that happens, I am more than willing to assist~."

This wasn’t the first time Merlin had given him a similar excuse, so Vahn wasn’t all that surprised. He knew the flowery Magus’ well enough, so unless it was information he needed to ensure the Empire was kept safe, it was rare to get a direct answer from him. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it would become problematic if he relied exclusively on information provided by Merlin. However, it was still a little annoying at times like this.

Instead of trying to press Merlin to reveal the truth, Vahn just accepted that he would need to put in a bit of effort to discover it himself. This wasn’t a particularly difficult task so, for now, he shifted the topic once again, asking, "Have you and Lilith worked things out? I just checked on her earlier...she is going to become a real problem, sooner or later."

With Lilith being the Queen of the Succubi, she had a lot of parallels with Merlin and, in many ways, was even a higher form of existence. What separated them was legacy Merlin had inherited from his father, the love he had received from his mother, and the compassion he had for all creatures. While Lilith had indulged in her purpose, Merlin had actively resisted and overcome his. This granted him a phenomenal amount of power, even if he had been helpless to ever truly make use of it.

In response to Vahn’s question, Merlin released a slightly exasperated sigh before answering, "I have managed to convince her to stop trying to peer into the dreams of the Ivory Castle’s residents. There is little I can do about her gallivanting through the dreams of others, however. She had been starved for a very long time so I can’t blame her for being hungry. For now, there shouldn’t be any issues. In the future, however, I fear she will grow increasingly impatient..."

Hearing Merlin’s words, it was Vahn’s turn to sigh as he knew exactly what the woman in question most desired. She considered it her purpose to serve the Gods, fulfilling their desires and helping to shape the world to their liking. The problem with this was that Lilith wasn’t something that could be restrained easily so, even if Vahn ’helped’ to fulfill her purpose, things would become troublesome once the convergence began.

The only way Vahn could keep Lilith under control was by turning her into his, or someone he trusts, Familiar. Succubi and Incubi were a type of Daemon, entities formed from desires who, as a result, lived for the purpose of fulfilling those same desires. So long as human desire existed, they would be compelled to fulfill their purpose as, much like the Gods of Danmachi, they were compelled to do so by higher orders of power.

Fortunately, though it came with a whole host of problems, the nature of Daemon’s compelled them to form contracts with sapient creatures. These contracts had a variety of different effects but, in all but a few cases, they ended with the contractor having a mental breakdown. Daemons were entities founded within the 6th Imaginary Aspect and, as amalgamations of desire, their presence alone had a powerful influence over the minds of creatures bound by desire.

Humans actually weren’t all that good at dealing with their emotions so there were very few who could contract with a Daemon without ultimately losing their minds. They would be consumed by the power they obtained, the otherworldy pleasure they experienced, or the madness that resulted from having their dreams devoured. After all, upon contracting with a Daemon, you become their primary supplies or life essence, mana, and dreams. These were terms that couldn’t be altered so, in order to reign in someone like Lilith, her contractor needed to have monstrous willpower, endless vitality, and indomitable resolution.

Were it not for the fact he knew she would cause problems amongst the other girls, Vahn wouldn’t mind being the one to contract with Lilith. The issue with this, however, was that she had no way to devour his dreams. Though it wasn’t impossible to influence his mind, probing it directly was outside even Akasha’s capabilities. Thus, by contracting with Lilith, Vahn would basically be telling her that she was no longer allowed to consume something vital to her very existence. He could undoubtedly find a way to supplement this but, with his ever-expanding harem, introducing chaotic elements like Lilith was a truly senseless decision...

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, both in deep thought, Vahn ultimately asked in a tentative tone, "How about Karna...?"

Though Karna wasn’t exactly a God, he was infinitely close to becoming one. He was already a Tier 4 being and, though he didn’t possess a matured fragment, he possessed an A-Rank [Divinity] Skill. All he needed was a bit of guidance and a small shift in his mentality to become an actual God of the Sun, rather than the ’Son of the Sun God’.

Hearing Vahn’s supposition, Merlin shook his head, stating, "I fear what both would become if the energies within Karna’s and Lilith’s bodies fused together. They are existences on the opposite end of the spectrum, after all...to that end, there are really only three viable candidates. I cannot offer my own services, for obvious reasons..."

Merlin was, indisputably, the best candidate for reining in Lilith but, due to his complex relationship with Vivian, this was absolutely impossible. He already did a lot of things that weighed heavily on the heart of his former student so, unless the fate of the world hung in the balance; Merlin would not go out of his way to betray her expectations. The last thing he needed was another Morgan le Fay type of character in his life, someone that was undoubtedly plotting in the background, even at this very moment.

Vahn would never force anyone into a relationship of convenience so it never even crossed his mind to request Merlin’s assistance. The flowery Magus was already keeping Lilith in check so it would be a betray of his and Vivian’s trust if he tried to pressure Merlin into acquiescence. As for the other candidates, Vahn knew he was one of them so, after a bit of thinking, he frowned slightly and asked, "Do you mean...Scathach?"

Even as the words left his mouth, Vahn felt like his temperature dropped, a chill passing through his body. When Merlin nodded in response, he immediately shook his head, saying, "I refuse...even if she meets all the criteria, the thought of Shishou and Lilith teaming up...I would rather fight against Cath Palug with my arms and legs bound."

Finding Vahn’s comment rather amusing, Merlin couldn’t help but chuckle lightly before explaining, "I do not believe you would find someone with greater willpower than Lady Scathach. Though it may appear as though she lacks ambition and desire, we both understand the truth. With her connection to the Land of Shadows, there are none more qualified to satiate Lilith’s voracious appetite. There is also no chance of Lady Scathach being corrupted by Lilith’s influence...rather, I imagine the opposite to be true?"

As this was exactly what he was afraid of, Vahn nodded in response to Merlin’s question, adding, "If we went that route, Lilith would also become intrinsically related to the Inner Sanctum. At this point, I don’t think I could let Scathach go so having Lilith become her Familiar is just a disaster waiting to happen..."

Hearing Vahn’s words, Merlin showed an expression of mild shock. He knew of the current situation between Scathach and Vahn but this was the first time he heard the latter openly state he wouldn’t be able to let the former go. As a result, he swallowed slightly as, while Vahn might not be aware of it, he almost always had a certain someone observing his every movement...

With the exclusion of Scathach and himself, Vahn struggled to rationalize who, exactly, the third person mentioned by Merlin was. It had to be someone outside of the Inner Sanctum but, the only people who fit this qualifier were: Siegfried, Gawain, Lancelot, Galahad, Bedivere, Alexander, Maxwell, Heracles, Ozymandias, and Astolfo. Though it was possible he could be alluding to Semiramis, Vahn immediately excluded her as there was absolutely no way the woman in question would accept the person that made her feel self-conscious.

While thinking about who else Merlin might be talking about, Vahn’s mind wandered to Olga and, as if hit by a bolt of thunder, his brows raised as he asked, "Sherlock?"

Seeing Vahn finally arrive at the correct answer, Merlin nodded his head, explaining, "Though there is always the option of summoning someone specifically suited to dealing with Lilith, I believe Sherlock is the best candidate. If you saw the complexities of that man’s mind, you would understand why he is suited to the task. If Lilith got out of hand, I suspect he would even be able to trap her within his mind indefinitely..."

Even without Merlin giving an explanation, Vahn had already come to the conclusion that Sherlock was, indeed, the best option. The man was virtually incorruptible and, with an infinitely vast library within his mind, there was no chance he would one day lose himself to uncertainty. He was a man who looked for the ’ultimate truth’ in all things so, if given enough time, he would probably come up with a solution to any problems Lilith presented without them ever becoming an actual issue.

The only problem was convincing Sherlock and Lilith to contract with each other but, considering the nature of the former; Vahn felt like he would readily accept. He wasn’t the type to shy away from the unknown so, knowing what kind of being Lilith was, Sherlock would undoubtedly take an interest in her. After all, she had been around since the dawn of mankind, delving into the minds of both gods and men for millennia. She had such a vast wealth of information concealed within her mind that a man like Sherlock couldn’t help but be drawn to her.

Realizing this was the case, Vahn gave Merlin a mildly annoyed look since there was little doubt the flowery magus has already thought of this solution long ago. He was always like this, forcing Vahn to come to the necessary conclusion by giving small hints and bits of advice. Though this wasn’t really a bad thing, as it caused him to reach his own conclusions without being ’told’ what to do, Vahn would never get used to being played with.

Still, he wasn’t going to openly complain as that would make him into a hypocrite. After all, Vahn was known to do something very similar when he was teaching others. It was infinitely better for students to arrive at the answer on their own than to be given the solution from the start. Knowledge wasn’t nearly as important as learning how to arrive at conclusions through critical thinking and problem-solving. Thus, Vahn could only begrudgingly accept the fact that Merlin was messing with him as, in the end, it made him into a more capable Emperor...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Flowery Magus? More like cheeky...’,’Vahn fears the Purple Demon xD...’,’The best teachers don’t teach you what to think, they teach you how to think’)

(A/N: I woke up with a bad migraine so there may be some delays today. I probably ingested about 1000mg of caffeine yesterday so I’m most likely just severely dehydrated xD...)