บท 2281: Underwood Maze
Though they had only been apart for a few hours, Sandora was starting to feel a little restless without Vahn at her side. There were times when they had separated during their sojourn in the Actualized World, but things just felt 'different' now that they were back in the Divine Realm.
Fortunately, Sandora was not entirely alone as she carried out her duties. Lily was there with her, and though they had disappeared for a few days while Vahn was caring for her, Ebony and Raven dutifully attended her as she moved from one meeting to another.
Finally, half an hour before noon, Sandora's schedule brought her to the coliseum. Instead of heading to the Royal Box, however, she ignored the suggestions of the event organizers and made a beeline towards the VIP waiting area.
Without knocking, Sandora, still accompanied by Lily, Ebony, and Raven, opened the waiting room door, shouting, "Vahn~!" in a happy, bright, and cheerful tone.
Raising his hand, Vahn stopped the performance of Vanilla and Caramel before rising to his feet alongside Shiroyasha. Before he could greet his petite fiancee in turn, however, her nose began to twitch as a slight pout developed across her face.
Though Vahn had thoroughly cleaned and ventilated the room in anticipation of Sandora's arrival, there was little he could do about Frey and Alexys radiating pheromones like a space heater. Female Dragons were especially sensitive to the pheromones of others, so it didn't even take a full second for Sandora to ascertain the situation.
Fortunately, Sandora wasn't too upset. If anything, she was just a little envious that Frey and Alexys had gotten to spend time with Vahn while she was busy fulfilling her duties as the Leader of Salamandra. After her initial shock, a natural smile returned to her face as she asked, "I suppose some congratulations are in order...?"
"Princess Sandora..."
Feeling more than a little guilty, Frey hung her head and averted her eyes. She would have preferred Sandora to be angry; acceptance and kindness weren't something she was used to receiving, especially from members of the Royal Family.
A stark contrast to her elder cousin, Alexys folder her hands over her lap, a radiant smile developing across her face as she performed a polite bow and said, "Thank you, Princess Sandora. I sincerely hope that the Scarlett Family can, once again, become the shield and spear of the Royal Family."
Nodding in approval, Sandora answered, "I look forward to it." as her eyes scanned the rest of the room's occupants. The lack of any other servants made the presence of Caramel and Vanilla stand out like a sore thumb, so Sandora reasonably assumed they had either won Vahn's or Shiroyasha's favor. Perhaps even both.
Instead of asking about the twins directly, Sandora met Vahn's gaze and asked, "Do you enjoy dancing?" with a visible twinkle in her eyes. As much as her outfit was ceremonial, it was also designed for the specific purpose of dancing. She was a little out of practice, but Sandora had a fair amount of confidence in her dancing ability. It had been a fairly important part of her education as a member of the Royal Family.
Without missing a beat, Vahn answered, "Most certainly." before making his way over to give the petite dragoness a hug. After that, he repeated the act with Lily, and since they had previously revealed their identities, his two daughters, Ebony and Raven. Shiroyasha seized the opportunity to make a few teasing remarks, but Vahn largely disregarded them as he steered the conversation toward the upcoming Gift Game...
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Though the Bookmakers favored her at 7:1 odds, Yo couldn't help feeling a little nervous. She wasn't too concerned about the match itself. Instead, it was her personal decision to forgo concealing her body with the Maneki-neko that concerned her.
As much as she told herself she didn't care about the opinion of others, the notion that millions, billions, or even trillions of people would see her naked made Yo feel equal parts excited, anxious, and uncomfortable. Her Aegis would prevent them from seeing anything they absolutely shouldn't, but it didn't exactly leave a lot to the imagination...
"Introducing our first finalist, Kasukabe Yo of the No Names...!"
Hearing her name called, Yo's expression went from anxious to a mask of confidence as she stepped out of the passage connecting the contestant waiting room to the coliseum's arena. The moment she did so, the 25,000 audience members immediately erupted into cheers, not just because she was the crowd favorite but because her custom Aegis covered less than some swimsuits. Her top resembled a skin-tight white blouse that left her shoulders and much of her back exposed, while her bottoms were a pair of form-fitting red shorts that only covered about 2/3rds of her butt. They also had a large hole for any tails she might spontaneously sprout, so the view of anyone fortunate enough to be behind her was quite the sight to behold...
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"That idiot..."
Seated in the Royal Box located above the passage Yo had just exited from, Asuka couldn't help exhaling an exasperated sigh when she saw her best friend's outfit. She knew Yo wanted to start wearing less restrictive clothes, but this was just ridiculous.
"I don't know. It looks pretty good from where I'm sitting."
Adding fuel to the fire, Izayoi fearlessly eyed Yo's prominent posterior and truly remarkable thighs. Even from several hundred meters away, he could feel the power contained within them rippling with each and every step Yo took. She was a lot stronger than she had been just two days prior.
Though she honestly couldn't blame him for staring, Asuka still directed a warning look at Izayoi. In response, he just smiled and asked, "What? Do you want me to keep my eyes closed for the remainder of the Finals? I'm just admiring something our little animal lover, very clearly, wants to show off."
Coming to Izayoi's aid, Shiroyasha, seated two spaces over, stated, "The lesson Vahn gave you shortly after your arrival in the Divine Realm wasn't just him messing with you. There is little you can do about others coveting things like beauty, so it's best to benefit from it when you can. Besides, Yo was the one who decided to come out wearing that. If you want to lecture someone, talk to her after the match has concluded."
While it was hard to argue with Shiroyasha's words, Asuka felt a powerful urge to smack the impish woman atop the head. Not because Shiroyasha was lecturing her, but because she was leaning forward in her seat with a pair of binoculars and a lascivious smile on her face.
Adding insult to injury, Shiroyasha wiped a bit of drool from her mouth as she remarked, "I'll have to join Yo and Vahn on their next 'walk'..."
"You cheeky little imp...!"
Though she suspected Shiroyasha was in a relationship with Vahn, Asuka didn't want the impish demon anywhere near Yo. Unfortunately, it wasn't her decision to make. She may have been able to do something about it if she and Yo were in a relationship, but that ship had sunken before it had the chance to sail.
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With her extra sensitive hearing, Yo could hear Asuka screaming from the center of the arena. She couldn't make out what was said, but she could imagine it had something to do with her outfit.
Doing her best to avoid looking in the direction of the Royal Box, Yo gave the crowd a smile and a wave while the Announcer, an attractive woman with caramel skin, remarkably long black hair, hazel eyes, and bull-horns announced, "And our next Finalist, hailing from our very own North Side, Ayesha Ignis Fatuss from the Will-o-Wisp Community~!"
Accompanied by the sound of a 'Yohoho~" style laughter, a ball of blue flames more than 2m in diameter darted out from the far side entrance and attempted to sweep past Yo from her blind spot. To the surprise of the petite, blue-haired girl surfing atop it, Yo just casually stepped to the side with a moderately confused expression on her face as she wondered if the girl was trying to attack her.
Clicking her tongue, the inordinately thin and pale leaped down from the blue fireball, finger pointed at Yo as she announced, "You're not half-bad, girlie! Still, you're going to need a lot more than quick reflexes to be Jack and me...!"
As if responding to the girl's words, the ball of fire spontaneously burst apart to reveal a figure with a massive jack-o-lantern for a head, white-gloved hands, a flowing purple gown, and an old-fashioned steel lantern in its right hand.
"That is indeed correct, Lady Ayesha! Yohohohoho~!"
Smiling confidently due to her companion's words, the youthful-looking Spirit was about to say something when Yo interrupted, asking, "How old are you?"
Though looks could be incredibly deceiving in the Little Garden, Yo got the distinct impression that the Spirit before her was still a child. It wasn't the girl's thin, child-like figure, inordinately long, pale-blue twin-tails, or gothic-style clothing that gave her this impression. It was the trembling of her sharp, almost cat-like yellow eyes and the faint yet audible quaking of her voice.
Believing Yo was looking down on her, Ayesha's cheeks became visibly red as she shouted, "Older than you, you No Name brat!" in a distinctly child-like manner.
Furrowing her brows, Yo wasn't sure whether she should apologize or be offended by Ayesha's remark. Fortunately, she didn't have to think about it for long as Shiroyasha promptly bounded up to the railing of the Royal Box, arms spread wide like a gymnast who had just landed a dismount as she shouted, "Enough dawdling! If you want to fight, settle it in the Game Board!"
Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha slapped her hands together, stunning the crowd with a visible, rippling shockwave that expanded to encompass the entire coliseum. At the same time, at least from the perspective of Yo, Ayesha, and Jack, a domain of greenish-black energy washed over them before they suddenly found themselves in a dark environment comprised of a seemingly endless entanglement of massive tree branches.
Illuminating the darkness, two Geass Rolls unfurled out of thin air, a faint golden glow emanating from their surface to make them a little easier to read. The only other light in the maze-like entanglement was a luminous, greenish-blue moss, but while it appeared to illuminate the surroundings, it was a poor substitute for natural light.
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<Underwood Maze>
[Clearing Condition(s)]
1: Participating Player successfully leaves the maze.
2: Participating Player successfully breaks the opponent's Gift.
3: If a Player is rendered unable/incapable of completing either of the two conditions above, they are immediately disqualified.
[Rules]
1: Players must use the Gift they registered at the start of the Battle of the Creators.
[Restrictions]
1: Gifts related to Teleportation or Spatial Movement are Prohibited.
2: The killing of your opponent is Prohibited.
3: Leaving the Game Board without fulfilling one of the Clear Conditions will result in immediate disqualification.
[Time Limit]
000:000:00:59:45
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"So we either escape from this tree or destroy our opponent's Gift to win..."
While Ayesha was muttering the rules of the Gift Game aloud, Yo was staring at the Jack-o-Lantern behind her. As far as she could tell, it was a sentient creature, so she wasn't comfortable with the idea of destroying it. She also didn't want to bully someone she considered to be a child, so, after a moment of hesitation, an extraordinarily bright yellow light surged across her body.
Surprised by the sudden and intense light, Ayesha shielded her eyes as she shouted, "You scoundrel! Resorting to underhanded tricks this early in the game!?"
Contrasting Ayesha's expectations, Yo didn't attempt to sneak attack her. Instead, she burst out of the light with large patches of bright yellow and a bit of black fur covering her ears, hands, feet, forearms, and calves. The lightning-bolt-shaped tail protruding from her backside and the bright red markings on her face made it pretty obvious she was channeling Mikoto's powers as a Pikachu.
Before Ayesha or Jack could recover, lightning danced across Yo's calves before surging up and enveloping the rest of her body. Then, using her enhanced sense of smell, she, quite literally, bolted in the direction of the exit...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sandora's intuition is scary...','Pretty soon, Asuka will be left with no choice but to grow up xD...','Yo be like, "I am speed!"')
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