Chapter 217: Measures
'This is a disaster...' thought Vahn, appearing high in the sky of Termina, overlooking the ongoing conflict and destruction that had brought much of his carefully crafted realm to ruin. His palace was largely undamaged, but it looked notably worse for wear after enduring the reverberations of several large-scale Magic attacks.
"What are your orders?" asked Grayfia, appearing a short distance behind and to Vahn's left, her expression calm and dignified and her hands folded neatly atop her lap.
Instead of responding, Vahn took in the scene below with his enhanced perception, each second passing approximately forty-two minutes from his perspective. His side had a clear advantage in terms of raw firepower, but the enemy outnumbered them considerably. To make matters worse, it was difficult to determine who was an enemy and an ally at a glance as the forces of various factions had mobilized to protect their assets or take advantage of the situation to reduce competition...
BOOM
Seeing Issei dent the head of a kaiju-sized monster with multiple crimson cores in its head, four muscular arms, and a body comprised of shadowy, purple-hued chitin and plating, Vahn's eyes narrowed. He could sense the energy within the creature surging rapidly, cracks forming across its body before it self-destructed, producing a white and crimson fireball hundreds of meters across, capped by several rings of condensation.
'Giant monsters that explode when defeated...how petty...' thought Vahn, his brows furrowing as Sis preempted his query by revealing (They seem to be resistant to spatial transference, but you should be able to overwrite it and contain them in the Corridor if you touch them directly.)
'What if that's their plan?' asked Vahn. 'They've clearly heard about mine and Vali's bout, and it's widely believed that the Corridor is the source of my power. If they discover a method to travel between it and the outside without our notice, they could harvest its resources to bolster their wealth or strengthen their forces....'
(It's not impossible...) conceded Sis. (*However, the Inner Sanctum of the Corridor is markedly more secure than Termina and Invirtua. All three may be extensions of The Path, but the latter two are incomplete as they were given form by your current understanding and power. To make them real, you would need to increase your Soul Tier and grasp the essence of Creation.*)
'Of course...' sighed Vahn, briefly closing his eyes and exhaling from his nose before looking back at Grayfia and saying, "Work with the others to cordon off the valley and convert it into an evacuation zone. I'll take care of the giant monsters."
"As you will..." responded Grayfia, closing her eyes and offering a steep bow. Before departing to carry out Vahn's order, however, she flitted her bat-like wings and drew closer, causing his brows to rise and a smile to develop across his face as she gave him a peck on the lips...
'Talk about a silver lining...' mused Vahn, feeling markedly more optimistic about the situation as Grayfia gave him a narrow-eyed, incredibly alluring smile before departing, leaving a lingering, pleasant aroma and producing a powerful tempest in her wake. Vahn's first instinct was to follow her, but there were seventeen kaiju-sized shadow beasts and hundreds of smaller variants running rampant. Technically speaking, he wasn't obliged to help those who had settled in Termina, but it wasn't in his nature to turn a blind eye to people in need. More importantly, Termina was the planar world he and Venelana had created together. Repairing it wouldn't be that difficult, but seeing external forces bring it to ruin caused a pervasive chill to fill his mind and righteous fury to swell within him...