EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 246: Procession

[January 18th TST/September 10th DBT]

"Alright, you can open your eyes~" hummed Rias, removing her gloved hands from Vahn's eyes to reveal the delegation that would be entering the Soul Society to either participate in or observe that morning's Rating Game against the Gotei. During the match, they would switch to whatever equipment they preferred, but at that exact moment, nearly everyone was modeling uniform black, grey, and gold-accented yukatas or kimonos with a distinctive dragon pattern—a clear reference to his Uo Uo no Mi Model Seiryu transformation. The most prominent difference, though he couldn't see it from the front, was that they wore haori with their respective family crests on their backs as it had been decided that only he, his wives, and their children could adorn his.

"Well, what~do~you~think~?" sang Rias, already knowing Vahn's answer by his expression of astonished, open-mouthed awe. After all, alongside those who would be participating in the Rating Game, there were ninety ornately attired Devils, Angels, and Fallen, six twenty-meter-tall Dragons representing the Pritani Clan, and several of the most powerful members of the Maid Battalion forming their procession—bringing the total to over six hundred.

"It's inspiring..." responded Vahn, nodding. He often insisted that people should wear whatever made them comfortable, but a sizeable group of similarly uniformed individuals forming neat rows and columns exuded a gravitas that was impossible to deny.

"And this is just the beginning..." remarked Rias, her voice low but easily reaching Vahn's ears as she grabbed his left arm and joined him in gazing over the procession.

"Indeed, it is..." hummed Venelana, grabbing Vahn's right arm, refusing to let her daughter hog the spotlight alongside him. After all, she was just as involved in building the Dragon's Pavilion into the transdimensional power it was becoming, if not more so.

With a beauty on each arm, Vahn couldn't help standing straighter and inhaling deeply, his chest swelling with warmth and an expectant smile adorning his face. They still had a long way to go to achieve their goal of unifying a hundred worlds under the Dragon's Pavilion's banner, but with fifty years ahead of them—not counting time spent within the Tower—he was certain they could achieve it...

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"It's nearly time..." remarked Kyoraku, gazing into the distance from where he and the other Captains of the Gotei and their Lieutenants awaited the delegation from the Dragon's Pavilion atop the 1st Division's assembly and parade grounds. A five-kilometer-long procession route ran from the base of the parade grounds to a ceremonial gate in the South, symbolizing the Gotei's authority and the transition between Earth(low) and Heaven(high) by having processions travel northward up a continuous slope. Earlier that morning, a twenty-meter-tall crimson Torii with a coiling dragon motif had appeared on the opposite side of this entrance, its center a solid sheet of evidently indestructible stone bearing a shimmering, gold, seven-winged, circle-shaped crest that pulsed like a beating heart.

As if in response to Kyoraku's remark, the seven-winged crest released a markedly more powerful pulse, discharging a faint, hemispherical golden shockwave that caused the lower-ranking members of the Gotei and the Seireitei residents who had gathered to witness the event to tense. At the same time, the indestructible stone preventing passage through the gate appeared to melt, forming a luminous golden membrane that shimmered like the surface of a turbulent reflecting pool.

fwoom fwoom-fwoom fwoom-fwoom fwoom-fwoom

With tensions still at a peak, Akeno, modeling Miko attire, was the first to emerge from the gate, followed closely by a four-by-seven procession of nearly identical Sisters, each wearing matching Miko outfits and carrying 250cm-long, three-tiered bell-tipped staves known as Kagura Suzu. At a glance, the only thing impressive about the Sisters was their appearance, but every time they took a step, their staves produced a pleasant jingling that caused all who heard it to feel refreshed and invigorated. The reason for this quickly became apparent.

Following the Sisters, one of the members of the Pritani Clan poked their head through the gate, causing an immediate reaction with the structures of the Seireitei as their oppressive draconic aura, even while suppressed, exceeded the unleashed Reiatsu of a Captain. As a result, the ground and air trembled, producing an intensifying hum as the Pritani clansman fully emerged in their towering Dragon form, exceedingly twenty meters from forepaw to the top of their head and easily three times that in breadth and length with their wings and tail.

"The West Branch would get a kick out of this..." sighed Kyoraku, closing his eyes, shaking his head, and exhaling in exasperation as, until that very moment, they assumed Vahn's title of Dragon God was purely ceremonial. Now that an actual Dragon had appeared, exuding a majesty that caused the very foundations of the Soul Society to tremble, it was clear they were dealing with a genuinely powerful organization.

"Such arrogance..." muttered Sui-Feng, standing as tall as her diminutive stature allowed while gripping her hands into fists. From her perspective, the Dragon's Pavilion was clearly putting on a show and flexing its power, and she wasn't wrong. However, as that was the best method to ensure the nobles forming the Soul Society's upper echelons didn't get any ideas, the demonstration was deemed necessary.

Trailing behind the member of the Pritani Clan, a large, ornate, crimson-and-gold vehicle resembling a palanquin slowly emerged, ferrying those who would be participating in the Rating Game. After this came an even larger vehicle, this time carrying the executive members of the Dragon's Pavilion, each wearing colorful and elaborate kimonos as they sat around an elevated, presently empty gold, crimson-cushioned throne backed by a coiling dragon.

While those observing the parade-like procession were confused by the apparent absence of the rumored Dragon God of Intertwining Fates, the vast majority were far more interested in the appearances of the women positioned around the throne. Each was an exceptional beauty on a level that was rarely seen, so seeing them together, the number of wide eyes and slackened jaws compounded by the second.

FWISH FWISH FWISH

Distracting from the bevy of extraordinary beauties, three complex, nearly ten-meter-wide Magic Circles appeared above the Torii gate: bright blue, pale gold, and amethyst in hue. From their centers, Serafall, Gabriel, and Azazel emerged, leading their respective groups of ninety Devils, Angels, and Fallen in a wide aerial formation that made it clear they were serving as the escort for the procession below alongside four additional members of the Pritani Clan, twenty-eight combatants from the Maid Battalion, and more than a hundred Chefs with [Cooking] or [Culinary Arts] Skills ranked B or higher.

"A grand procession befitting a Dragon God..." affirmed Komamura, his yellow, canine eyes shifting between Serafall, Gabriel, and Azazel as he, too, clenched his hands into fists. The auras they exuded weren't on the same level as the members of the Pritani Clan, but his instincts told him they were infinitely more dangerous.

"But where's the guest of honor...?" inquired Kyoraku, his brows furrowing slightly as he focused on the conspicuously empty throne. Ukitake heard him and looked at Byakuya, causing the dignified, stone-faced Kuchiki to silently open his recently accessible Contacts List, his cold obsidian eyes focused on the input box as he calmly drafted a message to Vahn with the diligence of a poet preparing a multi-layered haiku.

Increasing the degree of uncertainty and tension present, the Dragon's Pavilion's procession, more than a kilometer in length, drew increasingly near before splitting near the base of the parade grounds, allowing the ornate transports ferrying the Rating Game participants and executives to be arranged side-by-side. Once they were in position, Grayfia rose to her feet from her position nearest to Vahn's throne, her hands folded atop her lap as she used short-range Teleportation to appear before the gathered Gotei in an instant.

Closing her sharp and shimmering silver eyes, Grayfia offered a slight bow directed at Yamamoto, her voice a melodic, leisurely hum as she stated, "I am Grayfia Lucifuge, First Consort and All-Encompassing Left Hand of the Dragon God of Intertwining Fates, Vahn Mason. On behalf of my Lord and the Dragon's Pavilion, we express our gratitude to the esteemed members of the Gotei and the venerable Nobles of the Seireitei for gathering on this most auspicious of occasions."

Though his wisened, observant expression didn't change, the knuckles of Yamamoto's aged, calloused, and heavily scarred hands subtly lost some color as he instinctively tightened his grip on his club-like cane to calm his Zanpakuto. Grayfia wasn't exuding a soul-shakingly powerful aura like the members of the Pritani Clan, but the instincts he had honed over the past two millennia were shouting at him that the striking woman bowing calmly before him wasn't to be trifled with.

"It is we who thank the Dragon's Pavilion for consenting to participate in today's proceedings on our terms..." countered Yamamoto, surprising the spectating Nobles and other members of the Gotei by closing his crimson eyes and reciprocating Grayfia's slight bow by inclining his head in a slow, affirming nod.

Raising her head, Grayfia adopted a faint, poised smile, exuding elegance from every fiber of her being as she calmly asserted, "It's a small matter. Your world is on track to become one of the first member worlds forming our transdimensional alliance. Our Lord would not refuse an invitation to engage a future ally in friendly competition and cultural exchange. To that end, we have prepared many gifts and have brought personnel to prepare a post-game feast that we believe even your most refined palates will be able to appreciate."

"Of that, I have no doubt..." affirmed Yamamoto. In Byakuya's accounts of his visits to the Intertwining Dragon's Palace, he mentioned the quality of their food, ingredients, and produce multiple times. He even contended it could lead to a revolution in their Reiryōrin(Spirit Cuisine), so while a meal and provisions as gifts could be viewed as an insult, Yamamoto concluded it was a calculated decision on their part as many Noble Houses had been hounding the Kuchiki Clan—who had unabashedly capitalized on its early access to the transdimensional community and commerce by forming an Exclusive Distribution Agreement with the Dragon's Palace, granting them the exclusive right to distribute their produce.

Just as he was about to inquire about Vahn's absence, the shadows cast by Yamamoto and the other members of the Gotei appeared to elongate and become solid as the clear sky above was suddenly replaced by what seemed to be a golden sun. With its appearance, the entirety of the Soul Society appeared to tremble as the sun reduced in size, replaced by the arguably more concerting sight of a colossal, long-style Dragon covered in golden scales with an ivory-white underbelly and seven distinctive sets of wings and a burning white halo crackling behind it.

"My goodness..." muttered Ukitake, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar as he gazed in awe at the imposing sight above—presuming the more than three-kilometer-long Dragon to be Vahn's true form. With him were four other smaller but equally impressive Dragons covered in ebon scales with slightly lighter underbellies. The four were clearly related to the Dragons within the procession, but their sizes were incomparable, with an average length of six hundred meters and wingspans just as broad.

'So this is the true form and majesty of the Dragon God of Intertwining Fates...' thought Yamamoto, a resigned look flashing across his face as he closed his eyes. There would doubtless be fools who believed they could pressure or exert their authority over the Dragon's Pavilion, but having born witness to threats and adversaries the average resident of the Soul Society couldn't begin to fathom, he could immediately tell that the four Dragons flanking Vahn were beyond their ability to oppose with force or coercion. They still had options available to them, but they were battles that would be fought behind closed doors or within private quarters, as based on the existence of Rating Games, the Dragon's Pavilion regarded warfare as little more than entertainment...

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