Chapter 2003: Treachery: Trust

After a breakfast that was more a banquet than a standard meal, Vahn explained his plans to the girls before teleporting everyone to the 113th Floor. There, located at the center of an impossibly large briar bush, visible from virtually anywhere on the Floor, an ancient stone shrine known as the Altar of the Great Mother could be found. This was the very heart of the Lo Po Bia Family, as, prior to the Age of Genesis, it was here that Lord Lo Po Bia had gained the authority to govern all forms of Shinheuh within the Tower.

Though his abilities as an Anima had always been second to none, there was a distinct difference between taming something and having absolute authority over it. The most notable exception, at least in this instance, was that Lord Lo Po Bia also had the right to share his authority with others. This, combined with the fact he had coordinated with Gustang to infuse the traits of his favorite animals into his descendants, resulted in the creation of the most strictly hierarchal society in the entire Tower. Those at the top could literally tell those below them to commit suicide or slaughter their own children, and, unless they possessed willpower far beyond the norm, they would have no choice but to comply.

While this ability sounded terrifying, it was offset by the fact that Elders could generally only wield their authority against members of the same branch family. Since they had been given the order to protect their kin, very few members of the Lo Po Bia actually attempted to exploit the authority that had been granted to them by their Father. Instead, the most common usage of the ability was them ordering the younger generation to work hard to overcome them.

Unfortunately, as was often the case when such systems existed, there were plenty of loopholes that could be exploited. The most notable example of a flaw in this system was when the Patriarch of the Forest Cat Family, a man by the name of Lo Po Bia Yasratcha, challenged the former Patriarch of the Canis Family for his authority. The two families had hated each other since their inception, so, taking advantage of the Canis Family's loyalty, Yasratcha ended up gaining absolute authority over the rival family before ordering its members to both slaughter and devour their own kin. This resulted in the effective annihilation of the Canis Family Family, and, were it not for the former patriarch expecting such an outcome, ordering his sons to flee, the Canine People would have gone extinct.

Though fault penultimately lay with Lo Po Bia Yasratcha, the simple truth of the matter was that the entire situation could have been prevented with a few words from Lord Lo Po Bia. Instead, his belief in the 'Law of the Jungle' had resulted in countless tragedies being associated with his Family, many from within its own ranks. This, in turn, led to an almost universal hatred of the Lo Po Bia Family, as, more often than not, they were distrustful and outright hostile to anyone outside of their respective branch. Were it not for their rather 'prolific' breeding habits, most of the branches would have been wiped out a long time ago due to the unadulterated hatred they garnered from virtually every other family and organization within the Tower...

---

Seeing a number of Floating Castles and countless Suspend Ships loitering in the airspace around the Altar of the Great Mother, Vahn correctly presumed that every influential figure within the Lo Po Bia Family had gathered. There were also seven Princesses of Jahad, thirty-nine High Rankers, and, last but certainly not least, the Leaders of three Great Families.

With Gustang among the trio that had gathered, Vahn's expression became far more serious as he turned towards his escort, eyes focusing on Blossom as he said, "It seems the Po Bidau and Tu Perie Families have decided to intervene in this matter..."

Frowning in response to Vahn's words, Blossom's amorphous pupils began to release a subtle pink glow as she directed her gaze to Enne. In response, the burgundy-haired beauty simply shook her head before offering a hint of a smile as she softly asserted, "I'll be fine. I no longer care about what happened in the past. The circumstances of my birth no longer have any influence on how I live my life..."

Since Enne was generally a very curt person, rarely speaking more than a few words, hearing her complete three full sentences underscored just how serious she was. This came as a great relief to Blossom, who, despite feeling things were going exceptionally well for both her and her daughters, still had apprehensions about their future. She had endured for tens-of-thousands-of-years, so, as much as she trusted Vahn, it was impossible to convince herself that everything would simply work out. Even defeating Jahad wouldn't completely allay her concerns, as, thanks to the information he had provided, her perspective on what constituted 'real power' had changed drastically over the last couple of weeks...

Burying these concerns in the deepest recesses of her psyche, Blossom managed what appeared to be a completely natural smile as she mused, "You've grown. I wonder who I have to blame- I mean thank for this~?"

With her gaze returning to Vahn, Blossom briefly tensed up as she noticed the perceptive glimmer in his bottomless aquamarine eyes. It felt like he was looking straight through her, and, for a brief moment, she felt as though she might drown in the endless abyss that was his pupils. Instead, the glimmer within his eyes almost instantaneously turned to one of affection, and, were she a little bit closer to him, Blossom could imagine Vahn reaching out to either caress her head or embrace her...

Resisting the urge to flex the fingers of his right hand, Vahn averted his eyes from the somewhat stupefied Blossom to explain, "The plan hasn't changed. I'll be taking point in order to prevent any future troubles from arising. I'll try to create a situation where everyone has the chance to show off, but that is secondary to our actual objective. If it comes down to me having to defeat the Elders of each branch, just leave it to me and my Templates. Once everything has been resolved, you are free to challenge them at your leisure."

Though his words were directed towards everyone, Vahn's eyes had settled on Yuri for the duration of his speech. This initially resulted in the seasoned battle junky appearing rather despondent, but, hearing him say could challenge whoever she wanted after the fact, her smile immediately returned. After all, if Vahn ordered them to comply, she could even face off against the Elders of every single branch simultaneously. Just the thought of this made her blood boil, and, as a result, crimson light began to emanate from her eyes as she nodded her head and exclaimed, "Yosh! Let's get this over with! The sooner you settle this, the sooner I can beat some ass. After that, we can all go home, eat a shit ton of food, and fuck till the sun comes up~!"

With a dry laugh emanating from his throat, Vahn offered a curt nod of his own before turning to face the massive briar bush and softly muttering, "Well then...shall we get a move on...?"

---

Under normal circumstances, the Altar of the Great Mother was off-limits unless you had received a direct invitation from the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family, Lord Lo Po Bia himself. For the last couple of weeks, however, virtually anyone had been allowed to move freely through the sacred grounds in preparation for the event that would determine the fate of the entire family.

To prevent things from turning too chaotic, Lord Lo Po Bia had mandated that all conflicts between competing families would be settled in the massive arena that had been constructed in anticipation of Vahn's arrival. These matches were personally overseen by Lord Lo Po Bia himself, so, while most branch families had decided to conserve their strength, others were doing everything in their power to show off before their Lord.

Most prominent among the groups competing for Lord Lo Po Bia's attention were the Forest Cat, Acinonyx, and Tigris Families. These three, alongside the Snow Leopard and Leo Families, made up the most powerful faction within the entire Lo Po Bia Family, the 'Feline Appreciation Society', an organization formed several thousand years after Panthera Family had been brought to ruin by the Epicyon Family.

Though the Forest Cat Family was originally the weakest among the major feline families, they had risen to prominence under the leadership of Lo Po Bia Yasratcha. Now, the formerly most powerful within the group had become the weakest, and, thanks to her association with Vahn, Pram and her Snow Leopard Family were currently in a precarious position. Many accused them of orchestrating the conflict between the Aldrnari Empire and the Lo Po Bia Family, and, thanks to the orders Pram had received following the event at the Name Hunt Station, there was adequate 'evidence' to prove she was colluding with a foreign power for personal gain. Since this wasn't far from the truth, there was little Pram could say in her defense, as, despite her pleas, Lord Lo Po Bia had chosen to remain silent regarding his involvement in the matter.

Forced into a situation where she was public enemy number one within her own Family, Pram was doing her best to lay low until Vahn's arrival. She may have failed to conquer his heart, but, prior to their parting, she had sincerely begun to consider him her Master. The betrayal of her family made this sentiment even stronger, so, even if she had never earned his love and affection, Pram believed Vahn would appear in her time of need. Her only regret was that she hadn't taken his words at face value when he claimed to be able to easily defeat the Leaders of the Great Families. Had she known the full extent of his power, she never would have left his side...

As that thought crossed her mind, Pram's silvery eyes met the gaze of the man with dark-blue hair and 'watermelon' colored eyes standing on the opposite end of the arena. Her attempts to lay low had ultimately failed, and, as a result of her 'cowardice', she had been forced into a position not all that dissimilar to the former Patriarch of the Canis Family. If she lost the coming fight, her authority would be stripped away, and, in the worst-case scenario, most of her family would be wiped out to prevent them from ever posing a future threat. The thought of this filled her with endless fury, but, understanding she wasn't a match for the man standing across from her, she surprised everyone in the stands by standing in place and closing her eyes.

Equally as surprised as spectators, the blue-haired man, none other than Lo Po Bia Yasratcha, briefly raised his brows before adopting a crazed, predatory, smile and asking, "Don't tell me you're giving up so soon? What? Are you going to start begging? I hadn't realized the Snow Leopard Family had fallen so low. Though, now that I think about it, I'm not sure why I expected anything different from a family whose leader pleasures and pisses themself in public..nyahahahahahahahahahaha~!"

Though she had resolved herself to leave her fate in the hands of Vahn, Pram couldn't prevent her brow from twitching in response to Yasratcha's ridicule. As a result, the surrounding Shinsu began to gradually freeze, ice particles appearing all throughout the arena as the hateful man across from her continued to laugh. Despite this, his gaze was fully focused on her, pupils contracting into thin lines as his nails steadily increased in length...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mind control fuckery...','Yuri has her priorities in order...','Somewhere after midnight, in my wildest fantasies...')

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