Chapter 1897: Escalation
Seated high atop a spiraling pillar of stone, a man with ashen grey skin, ghastly blue hair, matching eyes, long pointed ears, and small antennae could be seen slouching forward as he watched various news reports regarding the Tower. At his side, a massive stag beetle, approximately twenty meters in height and twice that in length, silently clicked its mandibles in frustration.
Much like the giant stag beetle, the grey-skinned man, garbed in a thick hooded parka that was adorned with a thick furred collar, could sense the turmoil occurring outside. His body housed a unique parasitic organism known as the Red Thryssa, the supposed offspring of the Guardian that had been killed by Enryu. As a result, he could sense fluctuations in the surrounding Shinsu, and, when he got serious, even former High Rankers were unable to offer any resistance against him.
Long ago, the man, better known as Hell Joe, would have spared no effort in ensuring the people under his charge were well protected. He had been the type to face his enemies directly, and, for a time, no manner of setback could deter him from doing what was best for his people.
A stark contrast to his former self, someone even Ureko had taken an interest in, the current Hell Joe was unmoved by the sounds of conflict occurring in his own fortress. He 'knew' everyone was immortal, so, even if he took his time, it wasn't like anyone was going to die. Instead, he continued shoveling handfuls of various different snacks into his mouth as his insect-like wings twitched due to his rising frustration.
Though some might mistakenly believe he was frustrated by the outside disturbances, the truth of the matter was that Hell Joe was tired of watching the news. For reasons he couldn't understand, his contacts within FUG had given him an old-school television that only showed various different news stations. It wasn't that these weren't interesting to watch, but, rather than entertain him, the various happenings in the Tower only made him more envious of the fact he was trapped within the Floor of Death.
Biting his thumbnail in frustration, Hell Joe murmured, "That damn Karaka. When I get out of here, the first thing I'm going to do is take a can opener to that tin-faced lunatic! Who the fuck gifts out a television that only shows the news!? Are you trying to taunt me!? Huh!?"
As if to answer his questions, an explosion, accompanied by a considerable amount of dust and debris, occurred near the entrance of the chamber. This was enough to earn Hell Joe's attention, as, from within the cloud of dust, a petite figure with a bone mask and a pointed hood could be seen reaching out towards him, groaning, "Master Joe...help...us..."
Following the cry for help, a strange yellow-orange piece of paper created a tunnel-like vortex within the remaining cloud of dust before impacting the masked figure's forehead. Immediately thereafter, the figure ceased moving in its entirety as the silhouette of a man emerged from the entrance to the chamber, asserting, "You must be Hell Joe..."
Other than frowning slightly, Hell Joe didn't seem to care that the central chamber of his fortress had been breached. Instead, he sized up the figure that had invaded, asking, "Who the hell are you supposed to be? I thought for sure you were that blue-haired Bitch Hermit from North City. Don't tell me this is some kind of ploy from those FUG assholes?"
Largely ignoring the man, Vahn listened as the Law of Identity revealed the reasons for Hell Joe's tyranny. His connection with FUG wasn't even remotely surprising. What did catch him off guard was the fact that the man seemed to have a mild obsession with Ureko, the source of the strange creature fused with his body.
Realizing the man had a connection with Ureko, a frown immediately developed across Vahn's face as he wondered what had occurred to send the man down this dark path. Ureko wasn't the type of person who would empower the wicked and empower them with the ability to oppress others. Her sense of righteousness was even greater than his, and, had she known about the events occurring within this place, he couldn't imagine her staying silent.
Clearing up his confusion, the Law of Identity promptly changed into Ureko before explaining, "It seems like she has the Workshop developing some kind of tool to extract a creature known as the Red Thryssa from his body? She also seems to know that you have come to the Floor of Death and is intending to surprise you."
Genuinely surprised by the revelation, Vahn ignored the increasingly frustrated Hell Joe, asking, "Is she here?" in a slightly concerned tone.
Seemingly amused by his reaction, the Law of Identity began to snicker in an eerily similar way to the actual Ureko before nodding her head and revealing, "Yup~! She is currently meeting with a woman named Garam Jahad."
Following the revelation, the Law of Identity transformed into a rather striking beauty with bluish-white hair that became progressively darker towards the ends. She almost looked like a member of the Khun Family, but, based on the aura emanating from her body, it was more likely that she was the daughter of two different Families.
Nodding her head in affirmation, the Law of Identity revealed, "Her father was a member of the Tu Perie Family and her mother was an exiled member of the Khun Family. You're in luck. It seems she has taken an interest in you after learning about your existence from Ureko."
Raising his brows in response to the Law of Identity's words, Vahn was about to ask for clarification when Hell Joe suddenly leaped from his perch, his expression a caricature of unrestrained anger as he shouted, "Are you seriously ignoring me!? I'll fucking end you, you sorry sack of shit...!!"
Shifting his attention back to the man, Vahn watched as the antennae on his head became crimson red horns. At the same time, a carapace-like mask formed from the same crimson material grew to cover the lower half of his face, its final shape resembling a mix between an insectoid maw and the face of a demon. It honestly looked a little cool, especially with his thick-furred parka and the large clawed gauntlet that had grown along his right arm. Unfortunately, Vahn hadn't exactly come here to admire the man; so, before the transformation could complete, his fist had already impacted the mask, shattering both it and Hell Joe's jaw.
Demonstrating a remarkable resilience and an even more ludicrous recovery rate, Hell Joe spit a few broken teeth and bone fragments from his mouth before wiping away the blood to reveal his fully healed jaw. The mask, however, didn't immediately grow back as the energy within his system became increasingly tumultuous.
Realizing the interloper wasn't someone he could look down upon, Hell Joe's wrathful expression morphed into a mask of calm as he remarked, "You certainly have the strength to back up your arrogance. It's too-"
Moving the moment he sensed the man trying to muster his energy, Vahn kicked Hell Joe in the diaphragm with enough force to send him smashing through the walls of the fortress. He wasn't the type to let his enemy monologue while they sneakily prepared an attack. Thus, while he was a little interested in the power of the Red Thryssa, it wasn't like he would never have the chance to face an actual Floor Guardian...
Hugging the hole in his chest, Hell Joe rapidly regenerated from his wounds as a bead of sweat rolled from his forehead. He had thought that the Red Thryssa had made him invincible, but, as if he was just an insect waiting to be crushed, his defenses offered no protection against the fists of his assailant. This was something he had never expected, so, for the first time in decades, he began to fully focus on what was happening right in front of him.
Unaware of the existential crisis he was forcing Hell Joe to undergo, Vahn emerged from the Red Fortress with a golden aura emanating from his body. He had become rather fond of the Ancient Saiyan transformations, and, though they placed a heavy burden on both his mind and body, the strain on his spirit was surprisingly small. Thus, with functionally unlimited stamina and an Innate that provided him clarity of mind in virtually all circumstances, the Super Saiyan transformations were surprisingly easy to pull off.
Surprised by the energy emanating from his opponent, Hell Joe did what he believed to be the most sensible thing, given the circumstances, shouting, "Zero Area...!" as a peculiar white pulse erupted from his body. This caused the Shinsu Density for thousands of kilometers to drop to a near-zero amount, effectively rendering Shinsu Control Skills completely useless.
Unaffected by the sudden change in Shinsu Density, Vahn punched the surprised Joe with a fist shrouded in golden ki. Then, before his body could be sent flying backward, a gold energy sphere appeared in his hand, growing at a rate faster than the former's departing velocity. As a result, his half-transformed body was completely shrouded in a sphere of golden ki that promptly turned in a column of light that sent him smashing into the ground several hundred kilometers away in an instant.
Though it wasn't exactly necessary, Vahn instinctually shielded his eyes in response to the massive sun-like explosion on the horizon. He was gambling on the fact that even the insects on the Floor of Death possessed a form of immortality, so, while he would generally avoid such catastrophic attacks near population centers, this was one of the few places in the Tower where he didn't have to worry about the sequelae caused by his attacks.
As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn was slightly surprised by the emergence of a violent red figure from within the massive explosion. His domain only extended to around 37km by default, so, while he was easily able to react to most attacks, including those that exceeded the speed of light, he was effectively blind to attacks from outside the range of his senses.
Raising his arm, Vahn blocked the fierce-looking claws of Hell Joe's right hand with his exposed forearm. To his surprise, four unreasonably sharp blades of energy erupted at the point of contact, instantaneously tracing across his forearm, face, neck, shoulder, and several hundred meters of empty air before promptly slicing through the Red Fortress without slowing in the slightest.
Not expecting Hell Joe's attack to be infused with Severing Laws, an amused chuckle escaped from Vahn's throat as the bloody lines across his body instantaneously healed. Then, before the former could recover from his shock, Vahn twisted his hand to snatch Joe's wrist, crushing both it and the clawed gauntlet with an even more unreasonable amount of strength.
Executing one of the techniques he rarely had the opportunity to show off, the silhouette of an Azure Dragon manifested around Vahn's body as he performed a spiraling uppercut towards Joe's jaw. Accompanying said manifestation, a majestic roar shook the entirety of the Floor of Death as the azure figure smashed into the fleshy ceiling located several tens of kilometers above.
Though an impressive network of tunnels and pipes had been established to control the flow of Shinsu-like blood entering the Floor of Death, a veritable pillar of the crimson liquid emerged from the large hole created by Vahn's attack. This created an eerie sight to behold for the few observers watching the battle in the distance, but, more importantly, the baptism of blood provided Joe with a much-needed respite and a rather drastic increase in his combat capabilities.
Emerging from the shower of blood with a muscular figure, massive red horns, a rather stylish noh mask, and a large mane of ashen-white hair, Hell Joe couldn't help but cross his arms tauntingly as he said, "Your efforts are futile. In this place, I am a God. All you've managed to achieve thus far is ensuring your death will not be painless. I will keep you here and torture you until you are nothing but a dried-up husk that knows nothing but pain and suffering. In the end, you will beg for death."
Raising his brows in response to the man's words, Vahn adopting a somewhat incredulous look on his face as he remarked, "This is why power should never be given to people. I generally try not to look down on my opponents, but you...you are truly pitiable. It would seem you've been trapped in this place for far too long. Let me show you what a true God looks like..."
Taking advantage of the fact that Joe was still attempting to absorb the Shinsu contained within the column of blood, Vahn crossed his arms in front of his body while tucking his legs up to form a ball. Immediately thereafter, brilliant blue lightning began to flicker along the periphery of his aura as the interior transitioned from a vibrant golden luster to an even more radiant bluish-white.
Sensing the phenomenal energy surging from Vahn's body, Hell Joe's eyes widened as he moved to instinctually interfere with the transformation. Unfortunately, the moment he saw the blue light, it was already far too late to take action. As a result, he ended up being blasted away as a mighty roar emanated from Vahn's throat, collapsing the surrounding space as his hair shifted from pale-golden to a luminous azure-green...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Law of Identity enjoys ruining surprises xD...','Joe be like, "Behold! My second transformation...!"','Vahn be like, "Hold my Dwarven Stout..."')
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