Chapter 216: Clashing Ideals
'This form is way too big...' thought Vahn, taking advantage of Shalba's recovery time to revert to his human form, albeit with tightly compacted golden scales covering his hands, arms, shoulders, and legs, antler-like horns protruding from his forehead, and a long, thick, scale-covered tail swishing behind him. It was similar to the hybrid form of Kaido and other Zoans, but since he didn't like having digitigrade legs, his form was closer to Aileen's.
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Seeing Shalba appear in front of him, almost certainly unintentionally, Vahn, sporting a cold expression, remarked, "I won't say it's impossible, but as long as you bear my mark, you'll find it difficult to teleport freely within this space."
Raising his scale-covered right hand and clenching it into a fist, Vahn's expression firmed as he asserted, "I gave you the chance to leave before my wrath was kindled fully. You chose to remain, so now you will be held accountable..."
Exhaling through his clenched teeth, Shalba, looking worse for wear with purple steam rising from his regenerating body, countered, "What do you know of accountability? You retreated from the world and now spend your days in debauchery and excess while providing weapons and resources to those who suck up to or spread their legs for you! The power people gain in the Tower will invariably be used to incite and fight wars! Did you think creating a private playground would allow you to avoid or turn a blind eye to the destruction!?"
Dodging the beam of Demonic Energy expelled from Shalba's right hand, Vahn coldly responded, "Though there is truth to your words, they are not yours to speak. You're simply upset that my power isn't being used to fuel your ambitions. And because of your actions until now, it will inevitably be used to undermine them..."
Punctuating his statement, Vahn tried to clothesline or decapitate Shalba by charging forward at near-lightspeed, but the Devil preemptively arched his back before taking advantage of the split second he took to reform by producing a long, mantis-like blade and bifurcating him at the waist.
Beaming madly, Shalba dodged the sweeping counter from Vahn's Legendary Spear and exclaimed, "Ha! You talk big, but you're ultimately just a tool to be used! Your power is an illusion, and even if it becomes real, it's only a matter of time before everything you're creating is divvied up by your so-called allies or descendants! And the resentment of those who do not benefit or become victim to your power will someday become the spear that pierces your heart...!"
"Only those who take power from and wield it against others fear losing it..." stated Vahn, his expression hardening as he contracted his domain to form a hundred-meter-wide sphere around him and Shalba, solidifying the enclosed space and making it glow and reverberate with a golden hue as he added, "And while some might betray me, there will also be those who stand by me to the very end. For them, I can endure anything..."