NOVEL WEB Chapter 299: Elevation
Following his demonstration, Vahn laid out several picnic blankets with cushions, drinks, and snacks while Bonney's, Riko's, and Kakashi's groups tried to perform Bukujutsu. He truthfully wasn't sure if they would be able to, but since there were individuals from their respective realities capable of flying using similar methods, it shouldn't be impossible.
With such thoughts in mind, Vahn observed the energy fluctuations within everyone's bodies while sitting cross-legged atop the centermost blanket. From there, he could sense that Fran, Kakashi, Wendy, and Carla were the closest to achieving lift-off, but that wasn't too surprising as they were all geniuses who originated from settings where internal energy manipulation was common. Behind them, somewhat surprisingly, was Riko. However, as she was also very intelligent and frequently performed reconnaissance for her Party using a Computation Orb called the False Eye of Providence and a custom Flight Unit, she wasn't without her advantages.
crackle crackle
Though there were initially just a few bluish-white sparks around his body, Kakashi surprised everyone close to him by abruptly becoming enveloped in a bright, bluish-white, exceptionally loud lightning cloak. It was only for a brief moment, as the sudden influx of lightning through his body caused his nerves to short-circuit and his body to collapse in a smoking heap, but it was an impressive feat.
"K-Kakashi-san...!" exclaimed Kurenai. By then, Fran was already next to the downed Jonin, treating his injuries using Intermediate Healing Magic infused with the Divine Attribute. Kakashi would have simply respawned at Utopia if he were allowed to die, but since such protections didn't exist at all times and in all circumstances, Ghislaine had taught her never to be complacent with the lives she valued.
"Ugh...that was unexpected..."
With Fran's supercharged Healing Magic repairing the damage to his body within seconds, Kakashi pushed himself up with a groan before flipping to a seated position and smiling apologetically beneath his mask as he found his soot-haired girlfriend glowering at him poutily.
"Here, try these on," said Vahn, having gotten up and made his way over after seeing Kakashi collapse. In his hands were a pair of black, open-toed Ninja sandals, not all that different from the ones Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy were currently wearing. However, unlike standard-issue Konoha footwear, the pair he was presenting nullified Lightning damage to the wearer at the cost of doubling damage from other sources.
"..."
Though he frowned at Vahn's unexpected presentation of a gift, Kakashi ultimately accepted and inspected the sandals' effects by placing them into his Inventory. He couldn't begin to fathom how they functioned, but since he was eager to learn how to fly and could do without receiving a second shock, he gave Vahn a nod, muttering, "Thanks..." before donning the deceptively simple-named Rubber Sandals.
Before Vahn could finish nodding in turn, Bonney remarked, "Hey, if you're handing out gifts to make things easier, don't be stingy."
Turning to face the pink-haired teen, Vahn shook his head and asserted, "I've given you many gifts. More to the point, you already have the means to at least experience Bukujutsu. Give it a try."
"I refuse," responded Bonney, crossing her arms and leaving Vahn a little confused as she firmly asserted, "I can learn and master new techniques without relying on my Devil Fruit. Just watch me."
"I have full confidence in your abilities..." responded Vahn, offering a slow, affirming nod as he wondered what had caused Bonney to determine that relying on her Devil Fruit was a bad thing. It had only been two days since she used it to realize a version of herself who was a skilled Blacksmith, so it was a little strange that she was so...defiant.
(Shall I reveal the reason...?) asked Sis, sensing Vahn's desire to know but also his belief that it was good that Bonney was proactively taking the helm of her life.
'Let's hear it,' responded Vahn, giving himself the impression that Sis had nodded in affirmation before revealing (Instead of using her Devil Fruit to actualize distant futures, Bonney is using it to manifest her present self as someone capable of achieving her goals. It's actually quite ingenious. But that's to be expected since she got the idea from Venelana.)
'Ah...the flaxen-haired Devil strikes again...' thought Vahn, returning to his seat after some parting words of encouragement to the group. There, he pulled up a display showing Bonney approaching Venelana for advice. So, while it was true the latter had once again gone behind him to influence a prospective member of his harem, there was an argument to be made that she had just given Bonney what she had asked for...
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"Welcome, Vahn-sama, to the Church of Intertwining Fates..." greeted Yukina, resembling a twenty-something-year-old Mikoto attired like a Shrine Maiden but wearing black, crimson, and gold in place of a white top and red hakama. Flanking her were two similarly aged and attired Sisters whom Vahn recognized as Takane and Marin, behind which stood six younger-looking, comparably plainly dressed Sisters with their heads bowed.
"You honor me..." responded Vahn, raising his gaze to the rather sizeable convent the Sisters had constructed with the assistance of Dr. Vegapunk and the Revolutionary Army. Outwardly, it looked a lot like his palace, but the scale was much smaller. It also only had six levels, likely because the seventh through ninth floors of the Intertwining Dragon's Palace were his private domain. Recreating and inhabiting those levels could be viewed as sacrilegious by an established orthodoxy.
"Every day of our lives~" hummed Yukina, closing her eyes and offering a bow of her own before rising to her full height and gesturing to the Sisters behind her, inviting, "Please accompany these Sisters to our underground balnae. They have been rewarded the right to accompany and attend you while the rest of us prepare for tonight's ceremony."
"I understand," responded Vahn, nodding. "But keep in mind that I'm not fond of overly formal affairs. I agreed to consecrate this place and bless your congregation, but I don't like being placed on a pedestal or vaunted as if I'm without flaw..."
"We are well aware of Vahn-sama's humility~" affirmed Yukina, adopting a smile that was reproduced by every Sister present. It was a little uncanny, but Vahn had long become used to the Sisters' synchronous behavior and expressions. As a result, he habitually extended his left hand, supplying a smile of his own as he gently tousled Yukina's notably soft hair, prompting her to close her eyes and clasp her hands with an even broader smile.
'Hmm...her hair is much softer than I remember...' noted Vahn, casting his gaze over the other Sisters, their chestnut brown eyes glistening as they observed him expectantly. As clones of the same person, there was only so much they could do to express their individuality without using Magic or another method to change their appearance. The most common was to wear their hair in a distinctive style or with identifying accessories, but the Sisters before him had taken that to another level—caring for their hair as if it were fine silk...
"Vahn-sama is very generous with his blessings..." muttered Yukina, her face lightly flushed as she gripped the front of her hakama pants and bit her bottom lip. Vahn hadn't utilized his S-Rank Petting or done anything to stimulate her purposely, but he could see her brain and nervous system pulsing with life from a simple head caress. And due to being linked with her through the Misaka Network, the effects quickly disseminated to the other Sisters present.
Clearing some of Vahn's confusion, Sis, her voice tinged with laughter, dutifully explained (In the Sisters' religion, Blessings are bestowed via contact with the crown of the head through the palm. To that end, hair care is a quintessential part of their faith.)
'That explains a lot...' affirmed Vahn, using his right hand to caress the Takane, not because she had done anything to deserve it but because she happened to be in range. Then, though he could have done without their heated breathing and increasingly flushed faces, he caressed the heads of every Sister present before making his way through those who had gathered near the church's entrance for headpats of their own...
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'This feels wrong...' thought Vahn, seated with his eyes unfocused in a warm underground bath as the six Sisters assigned to him coordinated to cleanse and massage his scalp, shoulders, back, and every other part of him above water. One Sister, in particular, had positioned herself right in front of him without a shred of clothes on, so if he focused his eyes and looked directly ahead, he would see everything Misaka Prime frequently agonized over him being allowed to see.
"Vahn-sama's back and shoulders are so broad...like they could support the weight of the heavens themselves..." remarked the Sister immediately behind him, named Natsumi. She had been lathering and massaging the muscles in his back and shoulders for a while, but she evidently wasn't satisfied with just his back as she slipped her arms around him to stroke his chest and abs, her soft and soapy body pressed against him and her chin resting on his left shoulder.
"Mmn...this is beginning to feel less and less like a bath with each passing moment..." noted Vahn, retaining his composure as Natsumi planted a kiss on his left cheek and the Sisters flanking him scooted much closer, sliding their contrasting hands across his abs with the Sister on his right, Kasumi, taking things significantly further by grabbing and stroking his slumbering younger brother.
"Please allow us to express our faith and gratitude toward you with more than just our hearts and prayers..." whispered Natsumi, planting a kiss on Vahn's cheeks before shifting backward, guiding him to recline against her thighs as she sat in seiza, her eyes glossy and face red as she cupped his face and chin with more than fleeting passion in her gaze.
"Do as you will..." responded Vahn, exhaling faintly from his nose before closing his eyes and allowing his body to react as it had been trying to do for a while. Fortunately, what he anticipated didn't come to pass. His not-so-little brother received a substantial amount of caressing, but that was it. Other than that, the Sisters primarily just kissed parts of his body while the two that had been watching until then, Yumi and Aoi, cleaned his feet and in between his toes without sparing a single iota of dirt...
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Following the inordinately long and thorough bath, Vahn was dressed in a modified, markedly more ornate version of his usual black, grey, and gold-trimmed yukata and haori by a trio of Sisters who hadn't accompanied him in the bath. Immediately after that, he was escorted to the main hall by a procession of ten Sisters—conducted by Yukina.
'Oh, wow...' thought Vahn, both impressed by the spacious main hall and the sight of those gathered within. The former resembled the Hondo of a Buddhist Temple with a glossy black floor, eight ten-person pews carved from pale golden wood, and crimson pillars supporting a similarly crimson and gold-tiled roof. As for its occupants, there were seventy-three Sisters seated in matching Miko attire and one positioned front and center of the hall in a flowery, clearly ceremonial pink kimono and haori that fanned out behind her.
Answering the question that had appeared in Vahn's mind, Yukina calmly explained, "This is Sister 1013, Chiharu-san. She is the oldest of our order. As such, we have chosen her to be our representative proxy. Please care for her so we might all know your love..."
"I will be in Vahn-sama's care..." stated Chiharu, bowing her forehead to the floor with her hands in front of her head, the tips of her index fingers neatly touching like a young Japanese noblewoman greeting her husband for the first time. With that, realization donned on Vahn like a bag of bricks being dropped onto his head. Clearly, the Sisters themselves had come to the same conclusion as him—that he couldn't personally make all of them happy. As such, they had created a closed network with their brainwaves synchronized with Chiharu rather than Lastia. With that, anything he did with the former would invariably be transmitted to and experienced by all the Sisters present...
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