Capítulo 1920: Taking Advantage
Around the exact same moment that Vahn was humoring Maschenny and introducing her to the concept of true deliciousness, two figures silently emerged from the void near Madara and Izuna. This immediately caught the attention of the two skilled Shinobi, but, before either of them could fully grasp the situation, shining golden chains emerged from the periphery, completely sealing the surrounding space and drastically weakening both Uchiha.
Rather than showing any signs of fear, an excited smile immediately developed across Madara's face, her eyes shifting from a beautiful crimson to an eerie purple comprised of several concentric circles and nine tomoe as she exclaimed, "Good! Let's see how powerful you fakes really are...!"
As a pale imitation of the original, the hemispherical cage formed from golden chains quaked in the wake of Madara releasing her aura. This wasn't simply because she had roused her Rinnesharingan, however. Instead, it was the unraveling of the tail around her waist and the immediate goldening of her inordinately long and wild black hair that caused everything in her surroundings, False Enkidu included, to visibly shudder.
Without the memories of the person they were based on, the duo that looked indistinguishable from the real Vahn had no idea what Madara had just awakened. All they knew for certain was that her power had explosively increased, so much so that it was hard to even make sense of how strong she had become.
Disappointed by the delayed response of the duo, Madara began forming hand signs for the Great Fire Annihilation Jutsu when another spatial ripple, this one nearly undetectable, appeared right at her side. Instead of a person appearing, however, a scarlet spear emerged from the void, impaling her left thigh before disappearing almost instantaneously.
The moment she shifted her attention towards the anomaly, the sharpness of Madara's hair seemed to increase as she spun around and yanked the unsuspecting Izuna to the side. At that exact same moment, a second scarlet spear pierced through the area, easily passing through his armor and grazing his side.
Despite the shallowness of the wound, a ridiculous amount of pain radiated through Izuna's body, forcing him to grit his teeth as his own Sharingan quickly transitioned into its Mangekyou variation. This was immediately followed by a lapis lazuli colored aura shrouding his body as a giant skeletal frame began to materialize around the both of them.
Before the Susanoo could fully form, Madara smacked Izuna's shoulder, her grip tighter than a vice as she said, "There are three of them. One is far more dangerous than the other two. You need to get away and inform-"
Though she managed to avoid crying out, Madara's jaw clenched as another spear appeared from the void, this time swallowing impaling the area just under her left armpit. Her attacker seemed to be taking advantage of the most minuscule lapses in her concentration, and, though it was all but guaranteed to be a weaker version of the actual ability, Madara could recognize it as an imitation of Laplace's Key.
In an effort to alert the others and prevent additional sneak attacks, Madara brought her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, shouting as massive, rune-covered, trees began to erupt from the ground around her. This would have been far more than what was required to garner the attention of Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Orihime, but, demonstrating just how 'prepared' her enemies were, the sky above became pitch black as the surrounding space instantaneously separated from the rest of the Hidden Floor. At the same time, Madara could sense a familiar energy slice through her body, one she recognized almost instantly due to her own experience with the Laws associated.
With her frustrations immediately fading away, a somewhat sadistic smile spread across Madara's face as she glared towards the version of Vahn wielding a fiery claymore. She didn't even seem to care that her left arm had been severed from above the elbow. Instead, she placed her hand on the hilt of the tanto strapped to her lower back, baring her prominent canines as she said, "The three of you really are pale imitations...let me show you what the concepts of Infinity and Nothingness really look like...!"
Though he could see her movements in slow motion, the sword-wielded version of Vahn could do little more than observe as Madara's tanto seemed to bisect reality itself along the trajectory of her blade. This included the empty void that closely resembled Musashi's former Noble Phantasm, an empty reality where the only things that were supposed to exist were himself and his opponent.
Having inherited Vahn's actual understanding of the sword, Madara couldn't help but snort as she witnessed her opponent collapse into numerous pieces. Surprisingly, this wasn't enough to actually kill him, but, as a result of the trauma, the faux reality created through the Hidden Floor's piss poor emulation of the Laws of Infinity and Nothingness immediately collapsed. As a result, she was able to witness the ongoing battle between Izuna, how having fully summoned his Perfect Susanoo, and a rather cheeky-looking version of Vahn in his half-dragon transformation.
Deciding it would be best to let Izuna get some actual combat experience, Madara briefly shifted her attention to her severed arm before extending her stump towards it. She had other forms of regeneration, but, as she had already activated her Rinnegan and Super Saiyan Transformation, the most energy-efficient was using the Asura Path to temporarily convert her body into a mechanical construct. This prevented even a single drop of blood from escaping her body, and, by converting her muscles into extendable nanofibers, she could extend them to seamlessly reattach her severed limb.
Flexing her fingers a few times to make sure everything was in working order, Madara's annoyance continued to build as her opponent refused to take advantage of gaps she allowed in her defenses. She was even suppressing her sensory abilities to allow him to critically injure her, yet, as if he had seen through her intentions, no attacks came. Instead, her surroundings were strangely quiet as the version of Vahn she had cut to pieces began to suddenly dissolve away...
Noticing this immediately, Madara couldn't help but click her tongue as she muttered, "These self-replicating cockroaches..." before begrudgingly sending a telepathic message to Yoruichi, asking, ("Is your side under attack as well?")
Following a brief pause that caused Madara's eyes to naturally squint, the rather vivacious voice of Yoruichi spontaneously erupted in her mind, replying, ("What are you talking about? Don't tell me another assassin showed up!? Why do you get to have all the fun!?")
Lamenting her inability to control the volume of voices within her mind, Madara lightly massaged her temples as she explained, ("Several Sworn Enemy versions of Vahn ambushed us. I'm guessing they hid away the Villain in order to prevent us from completing the Quest. If I'm not wrong, their goals are to capture us or force us to manifest Sworn Enemies of our own. Secure the captive and make preparations for our return. They have the ability to make copies of themselves and one of them is particularly troublesome...")
Though they had their differences, Madara knew that Yoruichi could be serious and professional when she needed to be. Thus, when no response came, even after several seconds, her expression gradually darkened as she asked, ("Did you lose the captive...?")
---
Grimacing in response to Madara's follow-up question, Yoruichi exchanged looks with Ichigo and apologetically smiling Orihime before exhaling a sigh and answering, ("In our defense, this is Vahn we're talking about. Even if they're just copies, that boy can be remarkably sneaky when he wants to be. If they managed to avoid even your senses, what can you expect when we didn't even know we were under attack?")
Without even a moment's pause following her question, Yoruichi was forced to wince as Madara's voice loudly and sternly answered, ("How about some vigilance in the wake of a sneak attack!? The last attack wasn't even an hour ago, yet you three dunderheads have already dropped your guard? My disappointment is immeasurable.")
Like a cat that just had its tail stepped on, Yoruichi flared up in response to Madara's harsh words, shouting aloud, "Bite me, you egotistical asshole! If we remained in contact with the other teams and coordinated with Vahn, none of this would have happened! Now, get off your high horse and high tail it back here! I'm dropping the Quest and contacting Vahn in fifteen minutes...!"
Following Yoruichi's outburst, complete silence could be heard from Madara's end. This caused the dark-skinned beauty to adopt a victorious smile, but, almost immediately thereafter, Ichigo pointed out, "Yoruichi...shouting loudly isn't how you send a telepathic message...I don't think Madara heard you..."
Hearing Ichigo's remark, a nigh-indiscernible blush tinted Yoruichi's cheeks as she glared at the duo standing together at the side. Their awkward smiles made things even worse, but, as if to add insult to injury, it was Madara calmly remarking, ("Izuna and I will be returning shortly. Without a villain, it is impossible to complete this Quest. Once we reach the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, we will contact Vahn to see what he has to say about this matter.")
Imagining Madara with a smug smile on her face, Yoruichi couldn't help balling her hand into a fist as she silently muttered, "This is the last straw...I swear, when we get back into the Little Garden, I'm going to surpass and defeat you. We'll see how smug you are when I bury my foot into your fucking face..."
Resisting the temptation to point out that she was, once again, speaking to herself, Ichigo turned to the awkwardly smiling Orihime and said, "We should quickly clean up. It seems like we'll be leaving pretty soon..."
Nodding her head in agreement, Orihime made short work of returning all the picnic items to her personal Inventory as Ichigo remained vigilant of their surroundings. This was quickly noticed by Yoruichi, but, perhaps as a result of becoming more cat-like with the passage of time, she simply harumphed in response before leaping to one of the tree branches so she could get a better view of the surroundings...
---
Though she was a little disappointed by the fact that her counterpart did very little throughout the fight, Maschenny's mood had improved considerably after witnessing the scenes of Vahn getting thrashed by Adori over and over again. Sure, her attacks might not have been effective in keeping him down, but, at the very least, it was pretty obvious that Vahn couldn't really do anything against her either. This gave her a few ideas about how she might defeat him, but, with her power far from the demonstrations witnessed in the Memory Projection, she would need to become exponentially stronger before making her move.
Noticing the scheming glimmer in Maschenny's eyes, Vahn resisted the urge to roll his own as he deactivated the Memory Projection and asked, "So? What do you think of your 'future' self? She is quite famous among the Tower's residents for her beauty and intelligence. Are you looking forward to maturing in a similar manner?"
Frowning in response to Vahn's words, Maschenny waved her hand in a dismissive manner as she said, "Bullshit. She might have an hourglass figure, but her arms and legs look like twigs. And that dress? Who the fuck wears a dress to war? Seriously, the more I see her, the more I want to smack that bitch in the face. What Rank did you say she was?"
Taken aback by Maschenny's brash language, an awkward chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he shook his head and answered, "If I'm not mistaken, she should be Ranked 69 among the Tower's current leaderboards...")
After blinking a few times in surprise, Maschenny began laughing like an unruly schoolgirl, hand hugging her stomach as her laughter echoed through the expansive chamber. This continued for nearly a full minute before she wiped away a tear from her eye and asked, "No, seriously, what is her rank? There is no way I would choose to stay at Rank 69. I mean, you have to know what that means, right?"
Deadpanning in response to Maschenny's taunting words, Vahn resisted the urge to boast about his experiences with the opposite sex. Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders, saying, "You can confirm it for yourself once you leave the Hidden Floor. The Tower's Rankings aren't exactly kept secret."
Realizing that Vahn hadn't been messing with her, the frown returned to Maschenny's face as she balled her hands into fists and muttered, "What the fuck happened after I got off the Hell Train? Did I get hit in the head with a brick...?"
Shaking her head in response to her own mutterings, Maschenny promptly decided there was no sense in worrying about the reasons her real-world counterpart had gone astray. She would soon have a body of her own, and, given enough time, the only Maschennys anyone would be talking about are herself and her mother. With that in mind, she adopted a somewhat serious expression as she directed her electric-blue eyes to Vahn and asked, "How, exactly, are you going to get us out of here? Also, you promised to provide me power if I endeavored to become cute? To that end, what, exactly, can you provide me? You can't expect me to make an effort when I don't even know what it is I'm trying to obtain, can you?"
Recognizing the look in Maschenny's eyes, Vahn shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time since he met the troublesome Princess. She was clearly going to cause trouble for him in the future, but, in spite of this, he still went on to explain what a Gigai was and the benefits of receiving his blessing. It helped that she had spent the last several hundred years within the Hidden Floor as it could be surprisingly difficult to explain the perks of a Quest System without having experienced something similar...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Madara's switch has been flipped...','Poor Yoruichi xD...','You can't forget that Data Maschenny is the same age as her real-world counterpart. They both be scheming...')
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Capítulo 1921: Countermeasures
Though he had largely gotten used to such things, it wasn't long after his chat with Maschenny that Vahn had the physical body of the not-so-young girl lying atop a massage table with her pale white back exposed. Fortunately, while she had made a few impulsive and half-hearted remarks that were intended to rile him up, her desire for power prevented her from causing too much trouble. He also had a fair amount of experience with 'petite' women, so, even when she sat up without even trying to cover herself, he was largely unaffected, explaining, "It might take some getting used to, but that body should have a much higher affinity for Shinsu than your original. This will make things easier in the future, but you should avoid using self-destructive techniques like your Lightning Redan until you have become accustomed to your new body."
Staring directly at Vahn during the explanation, Maschenny waited until he had finished speaking before asking, "Are you used to seeing little girls naked?"
Adopting a somewhat stern expression, Vahn resisted the urge to give Maschenny's head a chop as he said, "I have traveled various worlds and interacted with species who look like human children in their adulthood. You're over 163cm tall and nearly a thousand years old. You might be petite, but it would take an extreme level of acting to convince anyone you're a child."
Snorting through her nose, Maschenny hopped from the table in an effort to try and step closer. In response, Vahn gave the center of her forehead a not-so-gentle flick, adding, "Don't push your luck. It should have been obvious from my conversation with Eduan, but I'm more than capable of seeing through your thoughts and intentions. Why do you think I added the sincerity clause to our little agreement? You are more than welcome to accumulate power through your own efforts. If you expect me to provide you with extra resources and direct support, you'll need to fix that venomous nature of yours. Don't think I'll just allow you to do as you please."
Rubbing the visible bump on her forehead, Maschenny adopted a moderate pout as she said, "You are too violent. If you can really read my thoughts, you would know I'm being sincere. I might not have any experience with relationships and such, but there isn't anything I wouldn't do in order to obtain power. For all I know, you've placed all kinds of charms, enchantments, and failsafes in this body to prevent me from betraying you. Rather than becoming something like a slave or a servant, I would rather take proactive measures to secure my position. I don't wish to waste the next several hundred years just trying to catch up to my counterpart inside the Tower. Tell me what I need to do to receive more power from you and I'll do it..."
Despite playing the 'little girl' card not even five minutes prior, Maschenny was now doing her best to appear alluring, eyes turned up as she reached out to tentatively touch Vahn's chest. Before she could, however, the latter gingerly grabbed her wrist, a melancholic smile on his face as he said, "If you try your best, it is only a matter of time before you surpass the other Maschenny. I'm not here to help you satiate your curiosities about the opposite sex, nor am I a convenient tool that can be used to increase your standing within the Tower. So long as you genuinely believe I'm trying to use you, it will be impossible to close the distance between us."
With that said, Vahn released Maschenny's wrists before ruffling her hair and adding, "I remember a certain someone telling me to have some self-respect. You should consider following their advice."
Clicking her tongue, Maschenny bat away Vahn's hand before pulling the covering from the table, concealing her body as she said, "Fine, then. We'll see how far 'trying my best' gets me. So long as you provide me with the resources you promised, I won't cause any trouble. If my power doesn't increase quickly, however, don't expect me to remain silent...!"
Rather than responding to Maschenny's words, Vahn used Unit Management to call Scathach to his side while manifesting the Little Garden in his right hand. This caused Maschenny to startle slightly, but, recognizing the purple-clad beauty as the one who had completely thrashed Asensio, a potent desire to do battle began swelling up inside of her. Unfortunately, though she would only come to realize this later, she was about to be provided with ample opportunity to test her skills against the crimson-eyed beauty.
Though it almost felt cruel to entrust her to Scathach, Vahn knew that Maschenny needed to be broken down and built up from scratch if she was to have any hope of redressing her bad habits and ill-tempered nature. She was the product of a remarkably flawed system, and, after spending hundreds of years inside the Hidden Floor, she had become unbelievably obstinate. It would likely take years for her to be able to nondestructively socialize with others, but, before that, she needed to understand exactly where she stood in comparison to everyone else within the Little Garden.
To this end, Vahn gestured to Scathach, smiling as he said, "This is the Goddess of Spears, Runes, War, and Slaughter, Scathach. She will teach you about true spearmanship, something even your father has yet to achieve. If you complete her training, I can guarantee that few within the Tower will even be able to comprehend your power, much less defend themselves against it."
Hearing Vahn claim that the presence-less woman before her was a greater Spear Bearer than her father, Maschenny couldn't help but frown. During the demonstrations in her childhood, she had seen her father completely erase mountains with a casual flick of his wrist. He also gave off an aura that made him seem unreachable even when you were standing right next to him or sitting in his lap. Thus, while it had always been one of her goals to surpass her father, Maschenny had a difficult time believing anyone was even remotely comparable to him in terms of his skill with a spear.
Smiling in response to Maschenny's disbelief, Vahn extended his hand to caress Scathach's smooth hair and deceptively soft horns as he said, "I'll entrust this one's training to you. Help her get to the point that she would be able to survive in the Seventh Layer without assistance for a year."
Ignoring the gawking gaze of Maschenny, Scathach shamelessly nestled against Vahn's palm, a faint smile on her face as she softly replied, "Understood..." before adding, "She doesn't seem to possess any real talent, but, if Master wishes it, I will turn her into a great warrior..."
Though she never had access to the Wisdom of the Haunted Ground, Scathach had tapped into and assimilated a vast amount of knowledge and experience from her former self. Her [Pathfinder] and [Scathach] Innates also provided her considerable insight into the capabilities of others, so, in a manner similar to her original self, she could ascertain a person's talent with a single glance. As for why she claimed Maschenny lacked talent, despite the latter being considered one of the Tower's greatest prodigies, it was largely due to how little progress she had made despite having nearly a thousand years to refine her skills.
Knowing nothing about the strange woman with curved horns and a dragon-like tail, Maschenny's expression darkened considerably as she asked, "You say I lack talent? I'm one of the youngest-"
Before Maschenny could finish speaking, Scathach cooly interrupted her, stating, "People who cling to past glory are just making excuses for their incompetence. If you want to prove me wrong, do so during our training. Now, come. The current you is so painfully weak that I'm afraid you might die if someone accidentally bumps into you."
Without waiting for Maschenny's response, Scathach appeared behind her with such extreme speed that a near-perfect afterimage persisted in her original location. Then, with a swift chop to the neck, Maschenny was out like a light, her body going limp as Scathach effortlessly placed the topless girl onto her shoulder. This caused Vahn's smile to turn somewhat wry, but, rather than saying anything, he just allowed the new Master-Disciple duo to return to the Little Garden before exhaling a sigh in their absence...
---
Though it took longer than Madara would have liked, Izuna eventually managed to defeat the version of Vahn he was faced against due to the latter being unable to use any potentially fatal attacks. This provided them a nigh-absolute advantage during battles, but, as the defeated Vahns were most certainly just clones, dissolving away after sustaining substantial injuries, securing a finite victory was going to be difficult.
Fortunately, as troublesome as they were, the Sworn Enemies were still a far cry from the original. Thus, with the exception of a few of the weaker and more passive residents of the Little Garden, it wouldn't take much effort to defeat them. The only real danger was that the Sworn Enemies would try and draw things out by turning the conflict into a war of attrition. There was also a chance that they might resort to one of Vahn's most troublesome techniques, using their clones as exceptionally powerful suicide bombers.
Before things could get further out of hand, Madara was intending to suggest that everyone swiftly retreats from the Hidden Floor. She was far from being afraid, but, considering who her opponents were, they were ultimately fighting a battle that simply couldn't be won. Vahn wasn't exactly known for fighting fair against his enemies, and, while he would happily face them directly, there was never a time when he didn't have some kind of backup plan.
Though the notion of battling against an army of Vahn clones was rather tantalizing, Madara could just as easily fight against the real Vahn if she wanted a challenge. Thus, rather than allowing things to escalate further, she had her group retreat to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels before finally informing Vahn of the situation. This caught the latter by surprise, not because he was unaware of the Sworn Enemy versions of himself, but because they had targetted Madara's group rather than attempting to kidnap Ryun and Ai.
Realizing that their primary intent must have been to recover the body of the Big Breeder that was almost assuredly Yura's brother, Vahn decided it was for the best that everyone regroups before the enemy could get a better grasp of the situation. It was obvious at this point that the Sworn Enemies were working together, so, at the very least, he wanted to implement a few failsafes and reorganize the teams so that no accidents occurred.
Fortunately, as was often the case, the system shop had quite a number of solutions to aid them in any future confrontations. This included a number of weapons with the ability [Data Drain], a rather unique ability that had the effect of irreversibly corrupting and ultimately erasing Data Constructs and other Digitalized Entities. This effect had been stringently studied by Da Vinci for the purpose of eliminating 'Cyber Demons' and 'God Programs' within the Virtual World, so, while it was a little underhanded to rely on such weapons so early on, Vahn wasn't particularly concerned with fairness when it came to eliminating people targeting his friends, family, and loved ones.
Since it would be disastrous to allow the weapons to fall into the hands of the Sworn Enemies, Vahn made sure they were Soulbound and limited them to one per team. As an additional failsafe, every member of the party was given a trigger that could remotely detonate the weapon if it turned out that, similar to himself, the Sworn Enemies could ignore the restrictions of Soulbound equipment by emulating the wielder. If this ended up being the case, everyone below Tier 5 would retreat to the Little Garden, as, from that moment onward, it would become far too dangerous for anyone with a Zanpakuto to face them.
Though he had limited success during his own experiments, Vahn was pretty sure he could forcibly wield the Zanpakuto of other people. This would, however, place an extreme burden on the original wielder's Ego, so much so that it might fracture completely after prolonged use. If the Hidden Floor was somehow able to replicate this ability, anyone beneath the absolute pinnacle of Tier 4 would be in extreme danger. Inversely, anyone above had absolutely nothing to worry about, as, the moment an enemy tried to forcibly wrest away the Zanpakuto of a higher-tiered Soul, they were in for a very bad time. Eduan was the perfect example of this, and, were it not for the artifact that was sealed in his right arm, he likely would have self-destructed during his attempt to steal Rho...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn be like, "You're twice my age, you damn granny...!"','Scathach about to learn ya (O w O)...','Tri-Edge would like to know your location...')
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