Chương 2240: Catastrophic

After departing the planet belonging to Trāyastriṃśa, Kefla, followed closely by Mikoto, found herself transported to an oceanic world without a single sign of land. This might have deterred some people, but, as someone who could loiter in black holes and shake the very foundation of universes with her blows, she wasn't concerned by the pressure and depths of the ocean.

Turning to Mikoto, Kefla's brows briefly furrowed as she asked, "I know this is kind of a pointless question, but did you pack a swimsuit?"

Unlike the majority of Players participating on behalf of the Sage Dragon's Hearth, Mikoto had not dolled herself up for the sake of drawing attention. Instead, she was wearing her favorite black and yellow jacket, a simple black t-shirt, comfortable black shorts, and, in place of socks, black stockings that flowed into black and yellow tennis shoes. As for her physical appearance, she had defaulted to a tomboyish look after growing increasingly uncomfortable with the number of pregnant women in the Sage Dragon's Hearth. She wouldn't really mind having a kid of her own, but, unless Vahn asked her to, she was content with remaining his Pokemon of choice.

After a moment of deliberation, Mikoto slid her hands into the pockets of her jacket, saying, "Unless I allow it, water and pressure don't affect me. My Electromaster powers also give me an edge in this kind of environment so you don't need to worry about me."

Rolling her eyes, Kefla emulated Mikoto's standoffish behavior by crossing her arms and retorting, "As if I would worry about a monster like you. Just don't get in my way, okay?"

Though the ahoge she went to great lengths to comb down promptly perked up, Mikoto resisted her sudden, almost overwhelming urge to give Kefla a shock. Ever since the trip to the Heavenly Domain, she had been going through a phase where she was trying to temper her aggression. She didn't want the people of the Little Garden to view her as some hothead who couldn't control their anger, so, after a tense moment of silence, she directed her gaze to the bottom of the ocean and said, "Yeah, whatever..." in an audibly sulky tone.

Smiling in response to Mikoto's response, Kefla was tempted to try and tease her when a massive column of water more than five hundred meters in diameter erupted from the ocean below. From within, a monstrous, Serpentine Dragon whose head rivaled the size of a small island burst forth in an obvious effort to try and swallow both Kefla and Mikoto.

With her Autonomous Sovereign always active in her fused state, Kefla didn't even have to think as she immediately teleported to the side. When she did, the pupils of her obsidian-black eyes briefly expanded before contracting to fine points as she realized just how big the monstrous serpent was.

Though its hydrodynamic head was nearly 500m in diameter at the widest point, the most terrifying aspect of the sapphire blue dragon was its sheer length. Kefla didn't know its exact dimensions but she felt it was even larger than the dragon they would frequently summon back in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball. When it fully emerged, its size so was immense that she would have needed to retreat a significant distance just to have a hope of comprehending its scale.

Taking advantage of Kefla's momentary stupor, halo-like rings of cobalt-blue electricity began to emerge along the Serpentine Dragon's length. In the Divine Realm, Dragons with Eastern Origins often manifested 'crowns' as a symbol of their power and authority. They were similar to Kitsune in that regard, but, unlike Kitsune, the only way for a Dragon to increase their number of crowns was to consume the hearts of similarly powerful Dragons.

Due to the difficulty of obtaining even a single crown, even Dragons in possession of Divinity were not guaranteed to possess one. Thus, while Kefla didn't seem to care in the slightest, Mikoto was a little surprised to see a total of nine crowns illuminate along the Serpentine Dragon's body.

Just as Mikoto was about to tell Kefla to be careful, the latter promptly powered up, shouting, "Let's do this...!" before charging toward it with a massive grin on her face. To her credit, she managed to land a meteoric punch that sent the colossal dragon reeling backward, but, in the same motion, it whipped its tail around with such extreme speed that it appeared to cut through the fabric of space and time.

Though she could have easily dodged such an attack under normal circumstances, Kefla, wanting to show off a bit, intended to let the tail pass within a few centimeters of her body. To her surprise, an intense gravitational pull affected her body the moment the tail neared her. The mass of the dragon was so great that its physics-defying momentum distorted the surrounding space to generate what was effectively a localized, infinite gravitational well. As a result, Kefla's body adhered to its surface like a magnet as it smashed her into the surface of the ocean with enough force to vaporize tens of kilometers of water in an instant.

As someone who could tank universe destroying attacks with relative ease, Kefla should have been able to emerge from such an attack entirely unscathed. The problem was that she hadn't taken into account the dragon's identity, and, more importantly, the unbridgeable gap of Authority. When she finally reappeared a few kilometers away, there was blood pouring from her nose, ears, and mouth while the entire left side of her body was covered in dark, nearly black bruises.

Despite her rather serious injuries, a vicious grin had developed across Kefla's face as she covered her left nostril with her thumb and snorted out a scarily large blood clot. It almost looked like she had just expelled a section of her brain, but, even if she had, it wouldn't have mattered. Moments later, the bruises on her body had completely vanished, as, even in their base forms, both Kale and Caulifla possessed cheat-like regeneration. Kale, in particular, could regenerate from virtually any injury so long as a section of her brain or heart remained intact.

Though it could have followed its previous attack with another, the Serpentine Dragon elected to observe Kefla with visible intrigue in its eyes. When she fully recovered from her injuries, it used a calm and masculine tone to telepathically remark, "Your vitality and strength are impressive. It's no wonder the members of your Sage Dragon's Hearth were able to bully my descendants."

Winding up her left arm, Kefla's smile morphed into a confident grin as she said, "You ain't so bad for an oversized snake. At this rate, I may even have to get serious."

"Hmmm..."

Shifting its attention away from Kefla, the massive dragon took a moment to observe Mikoto, who, at the present moment, was sitting high in the sky. Its instincts were telling it that she was far more dangerous than the monkey-like woman floating a few kilometers away, but, as someone who had suffered innumerable defeats at the hands of a certain golden-haired tyrant, it knew better than to look down upon those who were clearly inspired from her.

As if to make the comparison even more obvious, Kefla's hair and tail suddenly became a luminous shade of gold as her eyes shifted from obsidian black to a radiant, greenish blue. The aura exuding from her body also increased by a truly ridiculous amount, so much so that the ocean below began to gravitate towards her.

"How troublesome..."

Offering a feral grin in response to the dragon's words, Kefla replied with a cheeky, "This isn't even my final form." before promptly disappearing in a flash of light. In the very next instant, she landed a blow powerful enough to fracture the pointed tip of the dragon's chin. The upper half of its body was, once again, sent reeling backward. This time, however, Kefla immediately followed suit.

While the dragon's size would leave the majority of people feeling helpless, it wasn't something people like Kefla concerned themselves with. If she didn't control the energy within her strikes, the very planet beneath them would turn to dust. Thus, while an archipelago-sized dragon was pretty intimidating to look at, Kefla saw little difference between it and an actual snake.

With this in mind, Kefla reared back in a highly telegraphed manner before smashing a devastating punch near the connecting point between the dragon's head and neck. She knew that a dragon's most powerful offensive ability was its breath attack, so, while her primary focus was on enjoying herself, she was also taking steps to ensure she wouldn't pay too substantial a price for her hubris.

To Kefla's surprise, the lighter, bluish-white scales lining the bottom of the dragon's body were a lot softer than she expected. Her fist sank into the material as if it were made of some kind of adaptive foam. She could feel the force of her blow enter the dragon's body, but, instead of piercing through it, the impact rippled through its flesh before seemingly dissipating.

"And you called me troublesome?"

Gathering a superdense ball of golden ki in her right hand, Kefla was intending to blast a hole clean through the dragon's neck. Before she could unleash it, however, it was like someone had dialed up the planet's gravity by several tens of thousands of times. She could easily resist such forces, but, as the change had occurred nigh-instantaneously, Kefla promptly found herself impacting the freezing ocean below and being pulled towards its depths.

As Kefla cursed the Serpentine Dragon in her mind, said dragon attempted to enter the ocean after her. This proved to be a mistake on its part, as, despite the unexpected increase in gravity, Kefla still had the ball of Ki in her hand. The moment the Serpentine Dragon dived in after her, she unleashed a blast powerful and wide enough to vaporize the surrounding ocean and encompass the dragon's entire body.

Though the attack had been aimed towards the sky, the continental shelf below the ocean was pulled along by the forces contained within Kefla's attack. From a satellite perspective, the entire planet could be seen shifting as a country-sized beam of golden light erupted from its surface and extended tens of millions of kilometers in the opposite direction...

...

While the spectators outside were enjoying it quite a bit, Wu was growing increasingly bored as she watched Sarina battle it out against Meng Zhang's wives.

Though Sarina had the advantage in terms of raw speed and strength, her lack of Authority and her relative lack of fame meant her attacks weren't nearly as effective as they should be. Her Bankai was awe-inspiring to see in action, but, even after landing a 'surprise' attack on Ruogong, the latter had ultimately reformed from water in the surrounding environment.

Shortly after the battle began, two more of Meng Zhang's wives, each possessing crowns of their own, came out to support their sister. This immediately placed Sarina on the backfoot, but, as the latter had intruded in on her fun, Wu had absolutely no intention of helping. She would step in if things got out of hand, but, from her perspective, Sarina was reaping what she had sown.

While considering how she would make her entrance, the hairs near the base of Wu's neck and tail suddenly stood on end. Her instincts were practically screaming at her, but, before she could make sense of where the danger was coming from, a bluish-white light enveloped her body. In the very next instant, she found herself sitting in her Community's waiting room alongside a literal army of her subordinates.

Realizing what must have happened, several veins appeared near Wu's temples as she growled, "You irredeemably daft fool. Just wait till this Grandma gets her hands on you..."

...

Staring at the remnants of Wu's planet, a cold sweat broke out across Vahn's body. He had let his guard down since there were no longer any genuine threats to his Community's inevitable victory. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late. He had attempted to stop the flow of time, but, due to Wu spreading her Authority across her planet, he was unable to affect it in the same way he might his own. As a result, Kefla's attack passed through the barrier of Wu's planet as if it didn't even exist before vaporizing the entire thing moments later...

"I knew I was going to regret making it so that the barriers only prevented attacks from the Model Omega..."

(*You might want to start thinking about how you will appease her...Since she went through the effort of confessing to you in such a public manner, an incident such as this is going to severely impact Wu's reputation...*)

Though Vahn had taken measures to prevent Wu's Fragment of Origin from being influenced by external forces, public opinion still had a drastic influence on her power. She could easily increase her infamy by terrorizing a few known Communities but she was clearly trying to turn over a new leaf by confessing to him in public. This put Vahn in the precarious position of being the guarantor of Wu's status and authority. In other words, if he didn't personally rectify this issue, it was the same as personally dragging Wu's reputation through the mud...

"Haaaaa...."

...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: "Mikoto has life figured out...','That's one big snek...','This may just be one of the biggest oofs in all of EPIC xD...')

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Chương 2241: De-escalation

Understanding that it might not be the best idea to allow Wu to stew in her fury, Vahn rose from his resting position with the intent of drawing things to a conclusion. This was immediately noticed by Nobu, who, without rising from the bed he had brought out for them, asked, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Gazing in Nobu's direction, Vahn took a moment to appreciate the view of her lying on her stomach before answering, "Against all odds, Kefla managed to strike Wu's planet with a stray ki blast. I don't want things to get out of hand so I'm going to head out and wrap things up."

Rolling onto her side, Nobu moved her hair out of the way to reveal a massive grin on her face. Wu had never officially joined their Alcohol Appreciation Society but that hadn't stopped the infamous drunkard from stopping by to have a bit of fun. Nobu liked how 'daring' Wu got whenever she was drunk, so, while they couldn't be called friends, they got along surprisingly well.

"I say you let matters take their course and just console both sides once things have been settled. If you underestimate a woman's capacity to hold a grudge, it's bound to come back to bite you."

Smiling wryly in response to Nobu's words, Vahn took a seat on the bed in order to give her a kiss before saying, "I am well aware of that. I'm just taking action to prevent things from getting out of hand. The longer Wu is forced to wait, the angrier she will become."

Nodding her head, Nobu didn't attempt to refute Vahn's words. If she was in Wu's situation, she would feel a lot better knowing Vahn was doing 'something' rather than simply pretending things were okay. If she found out that he hadn't even reacted to her being eliminated, she might not say anything, but, deep in the back of her mind, she would be extremely pissed off.

Grabbing Vahn's collar, Nobu seized another kiss before playfully snapping at him and saying, "See you on the other side." in an aggressively alluring tone. She always enjoyed getting in the final kiss. It was her way of reminding Vahn that she wasn't simply his woman. He was also her man.

Understanding Nobu's thought, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn's throat as he stood up and promptly teleported away. In the very same movement, he intercepted a charging attack from Kefla before blasting away the massive serpentine dragon with a wave of air pressure.

Under normal circumstances, Kefla, or, more specifically, Caulifla would be over the moon to see Vahn. His appearance in the middle of a fight was rarely a good thing, however, so, despite forcing a smile, her brows gradually creased into a furrow as she asked, "Vahn? What are you doing here?"

Before Vahn could answer, Mikoto appeared next to him with an incredulous expression on her face as she stated, "Your ki attack struck Wu's planet..."

Though Kelfa tilted her head with an expression that seemed to ask, 'What is this dumbass talking about?' it was the giant dragon that answered, "Please tell me you're joking..."

Shaking his head, Vahn showed the final moments of Wu's planet via a magical projection. When he saw it, the sapphire-blue serpent appeared to pale before a mystical light shrouded his body. Once it faded, a tall, lean, and handsome figure with black hair and a single, brilliant blue eye appeared in place of the 1.8km dragon. There was an eyepatch covering his left eye, and, like many high-ranking Gods affiliated with the Heavenly Domain, a billowy, cloud-like shawl coiled around his arms before framing his head and shoulders like a halo. His outfit consisted of a form-fitting black top, a long-sleeved, open-breasted tunic, baggy pants, a bluish-white sash, and a pair of traditional, hanfu-style boots.

"I, Kouryuu, hereby announce my intention to yield. My Undersea Volcanic Palace will no longer participate in this Gift Game."

Though he couldn't do anything about his Gate Number being lower than Wu's, Kouryuu, better known by his titles as the Saurian Demon King and the Great Sage Who Devastates Seas, knew he would pay an even greater price if he secure an even better Gate. Kefla may have been the one to destroy Wu's planet, but, as her attack had been directed his way, Wu was bound to impose part of the blame on him. He wouldn't be able to escape a beating, but, at the very least, he could ensure his recovery didn't take more than a few months.

The sequelae from Wu's beatings had a habit of persisting even if her victim's possessed the ability to regenerate.

Following Kouryuu's words, both he and the ocean beneath him promptly vanished. The members of the Undersea Volcanic Palace also found themselves ejected from the Game Board, but, as none of them were nearby, it wasn't noticed by the trio standing above a now desolate planet.

Realizing the severity of the situation, Kefla's complexion noticeably paled as she asked, "Did I fuck up...?"

Understanding that Wu was probably paying close attention to the displays present in her waiting room, a wry smile developed across Vahn's face as he nodded his head and answered, "Indeed..."

As Vahn was usually quick to comfort her or play things off as inconsequential, Kefla was given the impression things were even more serious than she anticipated. In many ways, she was even more concerned by Vahn's reaction than the possibility of Wu doing something irreversible to either her or Kale.

Fortunately, though it certainly wouldn't earn him any brownie points from Wu, Vahn had never been the type to take sides. The destruction of Wu's planet was more so a quirk of fate than any of the people involved. It was a complete accident, so, following his words, he hugged Kefla's head to his chest and added, "Don't worry. Despite what some people seem to think about her, Wu isn't an overtly malicious individual. She may be angry at the moment, but, once things have calmed down, this will invariably become an event the two of you joke about over drinks..."

Feeling at ease in Vahn's embrace, Kefla exhaled a sigh of relief as she wrapped her muscular arms around his body. Whenever Caulfila and Kale fused together, their muscles became markedly more defined. Some people were put off by muscular women. Vahn was almost the inverse in this regard. So long as it wasn't too excessive, he found that muscles greatly amplified a woman's beauty. After all, many of his earlier women were warriors and blacksmiths by trade.

After planting a kiss atop Kefla's head, Vahn gave her body one final squeeze before releasing her to say, "I want you to withdraw from the competition and go and apologize to Wu. You don't have to bow or anything but you should do your best to show a bit of sincerity. Don't worry, I won't be too far behind."

Though she still wanted to rampage for a bit, Kefla didn't try and argue with Vahn's decision. She had scrapped with Wu dozens of times in the weeks leading up to the Gift Game so she was well aware of the petite monkey's temperament. If she was allowed to continue participating, Wu was bound to hold a grudge. Wu was the type that vehemently hated watching others have fun while she was forced to sit on the sideline...

"I, Kefla Caulifla Kale, hereby announce my intention to yield..."

...

Seeing the scene playing out on-screen, Wu would be lying if she said she was happy with how things were developing. A part of her had been looking forward to thrashing Kefla, Caulifla, and Kale. Now that such a touching development had taken place in such a high-profile manner, she felt like a tiger that just had its claws and teeth clipped...

Exhaling a sigh, Wu muttered, "I guess I shouldn't have expected Vahn to take my side in things like this..."

Shaking her head, Wu attempted to cheer herself up by reminding herself that she knew what she was getting herself into when she decided to fall for a man surrounded by an extensive harem. She also knew that Kefla's destruction of her planet had been an accident, so, rather than brooding over the matter, she decided she would simply increase the intensity of Caulifla's and Kale's training.

As that thought crossed her mind, two flashes of bluish-white light appeared near where Wu was sitting. Immediately thereafter, Caulifla and Kale manifested out of thin air. When the duo saw Wu seated atop Vahn's chair, chills ran through their bodies as they hadn't expected her to go as far as sneaking into the Sage Dragon's Hearth's waiting room.

Though she adopted a cold glower, most of Wu's anger had already vanished up as she said, "Take a seat..." in an authoritative tone.

Looking towards Caulifla, Kale muttered a fretful, "Ane-san..." before instinctually stepping behind the former's body.

Patting Kale's head, a confident smile developed across Caulifla's face as she teased, "Don't stress yourself out. There are some weirdos among them, but none of the women that have fallen in love with Vahn are truly evil. Come on. So long as we apologize properly, things should be okay."

Though Caulifla had whispered her words as softly as possible, Wu's extra sensitive ears allowed her to make out everything that was said. It annoyed her that Caulifla was trying to downplay the issue, but, understanding she was just trying to make Kale feel better, Wu did her best not to let it bother her. Instead, she waited for the duo to take a seat before pulling out a melon-sized peach, taking a large bite, and asking, "Do you know what you did wrong...?"

Speaking on behalf of herself and Kale, Caulifla adopted a serious look as she said, "We destroyed your planet with a stray ki attack..."

Nodding her head in both affirmation and approval, Wu took another large bite out of her peach before saying, "That's right. It's good that you can admit your faults. Now, how are you planning to make it up to me? An apology is a good start but actions speak a heck of a lot louder than words. If you really want my forgiveness-"

"I was going to receive a reward from Vahn once everything had settled down. Since I was the one in control, I'll let you take my reward if you agree to leave Kale out of any future plans for revenge."

"Ane-san...!"

"..."

Though she was a little annoyed by Caulifla's interruption and Kale's sudden outburst, Wu didn't rebuke them. Instead, she finished off the remainder of her peach while seriously contemplating whether or not to accept Caulifla's proposition.

Based on her knowledge of Vahn, Wu knew he would probably do anything she asks even without 'earning' it. In other words, just by knowing what Caulifla was going to receive, she would be able to receive it regardless. The only advantage of this exchange would be denying Caulifla the reward she was meant to receive. However, given Vahn's nature, there was a pretty good chance he would just give Caulifla her reward in some other form...

Pulling out another peach, Wu decided to leave the Saiyan duo in suspense for as long as possible before answering, "Very well. I will agree with your terms. However, in exchange, I expect the two of you to refer to me as Venerable Wu or Grandmother from now on. The whole lot of you Saiyans are clearly inspired by my legend. From now on, you should regard me as you would a Matriarch or the Grand Ancestor of your people."

As someone born and raised in the Heavenly Domain, Wu held the status associated with being an Ancestor in high regard. She was a being born from a magical stone found at the very center of Mt. Huoguo, and, as far as she knew, it was impossible for her to leave behind descendants. There was a fairly high probability that Vahn could address this particular issue, but, as she was secretly terrified by the prospect of having children, Wu had absolutely no intention of broaching the subject.

In spite of her personal misgivings regarding parenthood, Wu enjoyed it when people regarded her as their Ancestor. She frequently used it as a means to humiliate people, but, when it came to those she cared about, it was a way for her to feel closer to them. It was a stretch to say that Caulifla and Kale were people she genuinely cared for, but, as 'sisters' who shared the same man, Wu figured it was only a matter of time before they shared much, much more. To that end, she intended to make sure she was always in the 'superior' position in their relationship...

Seeing no harm in regarding Wu as her Ancestor, Caulifla simply shrugged her shoulders before saying, "If you're really okay with being called a Grandma, I don't mind. What about you, Kale...?"

Though she was pretty close with her maternal Grandmother, there were actually a number of Elders that Kale referred to as Grandma, Granny, Nana, and other terms of endearment. Wu was the furthest thing from a person she held in high esteem, but, if it was for her Aneue's sake, Kale could tolerate pretty much anything. Thus, without having to consider her response, she nodded her head and answered, "Granny Wu..."

...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Nobu is a good girl (O w O)...','Kouryuu be like, "Nope, nope, nope."','Wu be like, "I, your Grandmother, carry a big stick."')

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