บท 2336: Pandemonium Starts
As the twenty-four-hour preparation period drew to a close, it wasn't an exaggeration to say the entire Little Garden was on tenterhooks. This was the first time in history that practically every Community was being pitted against one another in a battle royale. There might only be a single Player representing each Community, but virtually everyone was participating in the event in one form or another.
Though they had no idea who Vahn's Representative would be, Brokers had placed the Aldrnari Empire's odds at 1.3:1. The potential payout was low compared to every other Community in the Outer Gates, but anyone with sense understood the Empire wouldn't go down without a fight. Were it not for the participation of beings such as Chaos Dragon Lahmu, Aion of Time, World Dragon Kurma, White Rider of Conquest, and Siddhartha the Enlightened, they would have been favored to win the entire event.
In preparation for the Garden-wide event, every single News/Journalistic Community in the Little Garden had been broadcasting speculation and commentary non-stop. They also displayed the remaining time until the event, synchronized with massive displays that slowly orbited the Inner Gates, visible throughout the entirety of the Little Garden.
As the countdowns reached 00:00:00, the visage of Shiroyasha in her child-like form immediately took over every broadcast. She was sitting with her fan spread, her cat-like eyes narrowed and face formed into a mischievous grin as she mused, "I hope everyone was able to use these past twenty-four hours wisely. Events like this don't come around often, so you may regret it for the rest of your lives if you didn't."
Snapping her fan shut, Shiroyasha laid it across her lap as she added, "I understand many of you have questions, first and foremost among them being, "Why is this event taking place?" To that, I ask you this, "Why does it matter?" Unless you can achieve victory, this is just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to prove yourself on the absolute highest stage. If you 'did' manage to achieve victory, you would receive the answers to all your questions and more. Thus, without further ado, let's get this thing started. Shall we~?"
Following Shiroyasha's words, innumerable displays appeared alongside those that already existed. Trying to cast an event with millions of people participating was next to impossible, so each and every Player within the Little Garden was given a personalized display to observe the progress of their chosen Representative. For now, however, they showed a wasteland that stretched as far as the eye could see, a lifeless world filled with ruins, countless corpses, and chaotic skies.
With everyone drawn to their respective displays, Shiroyasha's usually chipper voice became somewhat solemn as she revealed, "Behold, the remains of the first, the original Little Garden. For various reasons, this bygone battleground has been chosen as the venue for today's event. If they are to achieve ultimate victory, Players will need to overcome more than just the Representatives of other Communities. Within this destroyed world, creatures that revel in destruction lie in slumber, patiently awaiting their next victims..."
Demonstrating her point, Shiroyasha changed the display to show the corpse of a massive white dragon, its immense size making the mountains surrounding it resemble popcorned walls. It appeared completely lifeless at a distance, but as the viewport zoomed in, monsters of various shapes and sizes could be seen slinking about or slaughtering one another within the dragon's hollowed remains.
Before the average residents of the Little Garden could get a good look at the peculiar white creatures, Shiroyasha switched scenes to the ruins of a disc-shaped city floating high in the sky, assembled from white marble and glistening gold. Much of it had been destroyed, but there was a set of blade-like spires located at the exact center of the city, towering over all and seemingly untouched by the devastation in their surroundings.
Though she didn't explain the origin of the disc-shaped city, Shiroyasha earned the intrigue of nearly everyone in the Little Garden as she added, "For those of you brave or lucky enough to circumvent the many dangers that await you on the battlefield, endless opportunities await. God slaying swords, indestructible armor, automatons powered by literal stars. If your fate is strong enough, countless relics dating back to the dawn of creation itself can be yours to collect. Thus, even if the odds appear to be stacked against you, I advise you to do your best and continue till the end."
Without revealing the location of any actual artifacts, Shiroyasha's smiling face appeared once again. This time, however, she was in her adult form, surprising the vast majority of the Little Garden's residents. Unfortunately, they didn't have much time to admire her as she narrowed her eyes and mused, "Good luck, you're going to need it."
Following Shiroyasha's words, the 9,999,990 Players, representing just as many Communities, found themselves unceremoniously teleported to the ruins of the former Little Garden. Their destinations were the approximate locations of ruins corresponding to the Gates they occupied in the current Little Garden. This might seem like it favored the Representative of lower-digit Communities, but the opposite was true. After all, the closer you got to the center of the former Garden, the closer you got to the source of its destruction...
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As many beings within the Little Garden were the aggregates of multiple entities, Caulifla and Kale had no issues joining the game as Kefla. They would be disqualified the moment they separated into their constituent forms, but so long as they had their indestructible Potara Earrings, there was little chance of that happening.
While taking in her surroundings, Kefla set her gaze upon the three-tiered plateau dominating the center of the battlefield. She knew all of the most capable warriors would be 'spawning' at the Inner Gates, so that was the destination she decided for herself.
Just as Kefla took to the sky and was preparing to race to her destination, an inordinately tall woman with burgundy hair, ashen skin, four arms, and teal eyes appeared in front of her. Most of the observers recognized the woman immediately, but neither of the Saiyans comprising Kefla was the type to bother with collecting information. Thus, even though the woman was a former adversary of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, Kefla had absolutely no idea who she was dealing with, musing, "Hoooooooo~? I didn't expect anyone to be brave enough to face me directly."
As Kefla had crossed her arms and smiled while speaking, the burgundy-haired woman did the same with her frontmost arms, returning a smile as she revealed, "I actually just came here to see who was representing the Sage Dragon's Hearth. With all the monsters serving him, I honestly never expected Vahn to nominate you. He must be fairly confident in the person he chose to represent the Aldrnari Empire."
Understanding that the woman was calling her weak, Kefla narrowed her eyes and retorted, "You're playing with fire, tomato-top. I may not be the strongest in the Aldrnari Empire, but I'm more than a match for some stray giantess."
Using one of her free hands, the burgundy-haired woman scratched the back of her head, a wry smile marring her face as she asked, "Could it be you don't actually know who I am? That...kind of hurts?"
Though nothing ever came of it, there was a time when the burgundy-haired woman, Pweamma, had been prepared to become Vahn's wife, mistress, or whatever role she needed to play. She had also engaged Usalia in a fairly high-profile battle, so she never expected there to be people affiliated with the Sage Dragon's Hearth who didn't know her...
Resisting the urge to retort in a mean-spirited manner, Kefla exhaled through her nose and asked, "Look, are we doing this or what? If not, I have other places to be. If you want to lecture me about who you are or something similar, feel free to stop by the Sage Dragon's Hearth after the game has ended. I'll hear you out."
Realizing that Kefla genuinely had no clue who she was, an exasperated sigh emanated from Pweamma's throat. She was originally going to team up with her at the behest of her mentor, Ziros, but now she felt obliged to prove she wasn't just some 'random giantess.'
Putting Kefla on high alert, Pweamma manifested a pair of long-handled daggers and two scimitars as she said, "The name's, Pweamma. I'm the Vice-Leader of a Community called Chhah-Hathiyaar. I'm not your enemy, but I'm afraid my pride won't allow me to simply ignore your comments..."
Undaunted by the profound aura emanating from Pweamma's body, the result of strange blue runes extending from her shoulders and along her arms, Kefla cracked an arrogant smile and replied, "Fine by me. Besides, I'm the type that prefers to discuss things using my fists. Just try not to lose too quickly, okay~?"
Without waiting for a response, Kefla moved forward at a speed that caused the surrounding space to issue a terrifying hum. Her speed and power had increased exponentially since the promotional Gift Game, so her Super Saiyan 2 form was now faster than her previous Super Saiyan Sage form.
Though she was somewhat taken aback by Kefla's speed, Pweamma managed to intercept the former's flying kick with her cross scimitars. The edges of her blades were enchanted to be able to cut through just about anything, but the sole of Kefla's foot remained undamaged due to the Ki shrouding her. Instead, it was Pweamma who suffered a minor setback as the force from the blow sent her smashing into the ground like a burgundy meteor traveling at several times the speed of light.
Since she still had no idea who Pweamma was, Kefla didn't wait around to see if her opponent would recover. The Gift Game was a battle royale with only a single victor, so she followed the unceremonious spike by pointing her palms at the ground and shouting, "Gigantic Destruction...!"
Following Kefla's mighty roar, a terrifying beam of spiraling green energy erupted from her palms, instantaneously striking Pweamma's position and causing an explosion that resembled an eerie green star. Its power was comparable to several supernovas erupting simultaneously, but, thanks to the durability of Little Garden and the density of its Spiritual Energy, the explosion waned after a few dozen kilometers.
Seeing how little her attack did to the environment, a disproving grimace marred Kefla's face. As someone accustomed to obliterating planets with her punches, it was annoying to see one of her most powerful Ki blasts do such meager damage.
Increasing Kefla's frustration, Pweamma popped up out of the rubble with only surface-level injuries. Her skimpy outfit was a little frayed around the edges, but she was largely undamaged as she stared back at Kefla with a sharp-toothed smile and remarked, "You're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for. If this had been the Vahnatus, that would have been more than enough to do me in."
Before Kefla could ask what the hell a Vahnatus was, the fiery blue runes on Pweamma's back, shoulders, and arms abruptly turned gold. Similarly golden 'threads' then erupted from her collarbone, enveloping her arms in what appeared to be golden muscle fibers while also providing her a third set, bringing her total arm count to six.
While Kefla had no idea of the significance of Pweamma's transformation, those following the match were more than a little shocked. One of the few who wasn't was an elderly fellow with a burly physique, blazing blue eyes, white hair, and stylish facial hair. The moment he saw Pweamma manifest her final set of arms, a grandfatherly smile developed across his face as he softly mused, "Gifts aren't prohibited in this game..."
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'There are no opportunities without risks...','Kefla gives no fucks O 3 O...','Are we about to witness the true power of the Asuri...?')
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