下載應用程式
81.35% Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos / Chapter 1919: Ripples

章節 1919: Ripples

While Vahn had been busy running around and trying to solve problems, several other groups were actually enjoying the time they had spent within the Hidden Floor. Among these, the groups led by Madara and Roger were having the most fun, as, rather than focusing on a particular objective, they were just accepting the most difficult Quests in each stage.

With arms crossed over the breastplate of her rather iconic red and black armor, Madara couldn't help but smile as she stared down at the grimacing face of her opponent, a handsome young man with pale blue hair, matching eyes, and twinkling stars flickering around his body. The youth made the mistake of trying to sneak attack and bind her while she was watching her team fight against the stage's villain. Unfortunately, the only thing they ended up capturing was a strange metal doll whose weight was so extreme that it caused a small explosion after falling over.

Though she could have ended the fight in an instant, Madara had a penchant for toying with her opponents so that she could get the most enjoyment out of a battle. As a result, her primary focus had been denying her would-be attacker the opportunity to escape. This left the pale-haired youth feeling rather exasperated, as, under normal circumstances, they should have been able to teleport away. Instead, strange trees had erupted all throughout the battlefield, and, though they could still move short distances, long-range teleportation and spatial movements had been completely sealed off.

Seeing the youth stay crouched for several seconds, Madara's smile gradually faded away as she asked, "Are you done?" in a voice mixed with contempt, intrigue, and a natural sultriness that had developed after spending several decades as a member of the opposite sex.

Frowning in response to Madara's words, the youth forced himself to stand before asking, "You are far more powerful than I anticipated. Even if I pushed myself, I doubt I would be able to land even a single blow against you. Since further struggle would be pointless, I'm choosing to give up. Do with me what you will."

Snorting through her nose, Madara leaped from the branch of one of the many seal-covered trees present in the area, crashing into the ground with enough force to produce a crater approximately three meters in diameter. This caused the pale-haired youth to stumble, but, before they could fall over, a black-gloved hand tightened around their collar. Unfortunately, while this provided them a bit of stability, it allowed the subsequent fist to their diaphragm to land precisely, instantaneously forcing the air from their lungs and forcing them into unconsciousness.

Creating a shadow clone to carry the youth's unconscious body, Madara turned her attention to the quintet that had been observing her battle from a relatively safe distance, saying, "If I'm not wrong, this brat should be one of the people we're looking for. We will return to town and confirm whether or not this is the case."

Though he would normally never dare question his 'aneue', a handsome youth with wild black hair fixed into a loose ponytail raised his hand, waiting for permission to speak before asking, "Would it not be easier to simply send a message and have Vahn come to us?"

Despite the smile on her face, Madara immediately shook her head before responding, "Life isn't all about efficiency, Izuna. Given Vahn's personality, he is most-probably running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Interfering with his movements just to confirm a person's identity will make us seem incompetent and overreliant on his validation. I refuse."

As one of the third-generation Templates that Vahn had allowed to develop naturally, Izuna wasn't able to fully understand why his elder sister was so deferential to their Creator. Despite this, he still nodded his head, saying, "Understood." in a curt tone.

Resisting the temptation to admonish her younger brother in front of others, Madara just shook her head before directing her glistening crimson eyes towards their group's Wandering Minstrel, saying, "Show us the way back. You surely know the way, correct?"

Nodding their head rather swiftly in response, the tribal-looking man known as Blatt tore his eyes away from the unconscious body of the 'Big Breeder', answering, "Once you complete a stage, you have the option of moving on to the next or revisiting one you have previously cleared. You can also abandon your current Quest to expedite things, but doing so will cause the black bar of your Good and Evil Monitor to fill up an amount based on the difficulty of the Quest you abandoned..."

Having completed a number of Quests, Madara wasn't particularly concerned about filling up the black part of her gauge. Still, she also wasn't the type to leave a task half-complete, so, rather than abandoning their current Quest, she directed her gaze towards the bored-looking Yoruichi and the lovey-dovey couple of Ichigo and Orihime, saying, "Finish tracking down our target. We will return once this Quest is complete."

Digging into her human ear with her pinky, Yoruichi seemed unimpressed by the tone of Madara's voice, her own containing sarcastic undertones as she remarked, "The monsters here are too weak. Why don't you wake up that little brat and let me have a go at him while you go off and deal with whatever joke of a villain has been prepared for us?"

Though Izuna's reaction was to glare hatefully at the cat-like woman, Madara simply adopted a relaxed smile, saying, "Very well. However, know that your precious Master will be notified of your unwillingness to cooperate. Come, Izuna. We're going."

Without waiting for Yoruichi's response, a purple glow emanated from Madara's body as she flew into the sky at a breakneck speed. At the same time, her clone set the unconscious youth on the ground before dispersing in a cloud of smoke as Izuna, following his sister's example, darted into the sky like a crimson rocket ascending to space.

Since she had primarily just been messing around, Yoruichi's expression morphed into a rather silly caricature of incredulity as she gawked in the direction of the duo's departure. Moments later, the tips of her cat-like ears and tail began to glow as the air around her quickly ionized and began to generate sparks.

In a desperate attempt to mediate the situation, Orihime put herself in the line of fire by stepping forward, an awkward yet gentle smile on her face as she held her hands up in a placating gesture and said, "Please calm down, Yoruichi-san. If you fall for her taunts and attempt to give chase, you will only make the situation worse. Madara-sama is too powerful for you to deal with and Izuna will not hesitate to support her if he thinks she is in danger. How about we have a picnic while we wait? I have sandwiches, onigiri, and sashimi prepared by Rindo-san. It has been a few hours since we last ate. Aren't you hungry?"

Though she was mildly annoyed by Orihime's comment regarding her inability to defeat Madara, Yoruichi quickly calmed down at the mention of Rindo's food. She also knew that Vahn wouldn't really be mad at her, so, while it was hard to suppress her urge to chase down the Uchiha duo and pick a fight, her stomach and rationale ultimately won out. After all, there was nothing preventing her from battling against Madara and picking on Izuna once they returned to the Little Garden...

---

Unbeknownst to his companions, Vahn used the time he spent suppressing Maschenny and waiting for Eduan's return to check in on each of the groups' progress. His [Universal Mind] allowed him to passively absorb their thoughts and experiences, but, even without it, he had long since possessed the ability to connect his senses with those listed in his Unit Management. He very rarely made use of this ability in the past, but, after spending several months watching over his Template's exploits in the Tri-Ace Anthology, he had gradually become accustomed to such practices.

Seeing how much fun some of the teams were having, combined with the earnest efforts of Fenrir's and Artoria's parties, Vahn's personal grievances towards the Hidden Floor began to gradually fade away. This was one of the benefits of being able to view a situation from the perspective of another, as, more often than not, the account of a single person led to the development of a bias. This was especially true for those who proactively sought to eliminate tyranny and provide aid those those in need.

When you exposed yourself to the more detrimental and negative elements of a society, it was easy to forget that there were quite a number of positive aspects associated with even the most heinous and cruel regimes. It was also easy to forget that places like the Hidden Floor, the Virtual World, and even the Eternal Sphere were originally created with noble purposes in mind.

In its inception, the mirror serving as the foundation for the Hidden Floor was meant to act as a time capsule of sorts for Jahad and the Great Warriors. As for the Virtual World, it served a similar function, but, more importantly, provided people with knowledge and the freedom to choose their own career paths and immerse themselves in various fantasy worlds. Lastly, the Eternal Sphere was originally created with the intent to advice scientific understanding and ascertain whether or not life could develop in a closed system without external influence. It was an experiment intended to help the inhabitants of the Fourth Dimension better understand their own origins, but, as was often the case, it's purpose had been perverted for the sake of profit and personal gain.

Simply put, very few things were designed with the express intent of causing harm or aiding in the propagation of corruption. Rather, most scientific discoveries were the result of genuine curiosity and a desire to advance one's civilization to the next level. Instead, the most intelligent members of a community were often exploited by the most opportunistic, and, unless something catastrophic occurred to necessitate progress, the advancement of civilization was bottlenecked for the sake of profit. This was one of the inherent detriments of society, as, without exceptionally powerful and responsible leaders proactively working to counteract it, the ambitions of opportunistic individuals would invariably lead to corruption and the gradual suppression of reason for the sake of maintaing the status quo.

Fortunately, while all civilizations would inevitably vanish into the ebb and flow of time, there was still merit in working to improve things. A few hundred years of peace might seem like a small blip in the ceaseless flow of time, but, for the people experiencing said peace, each and every day was a blessing. This was especially true for those who had suffered from tragedy and hardship, so, while it sometimes felt like he was fighting a pointless battle, such sentiments faded away the moment he saw the smiling faces of his family, friends, loved ones, and the people who had benefitted from his struggles.

Breaking the connection between himself and Yoruichi, an apologetic spread across Vahn's face as he looked towards the entrance of the room and said, "I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have been so heavy-handed with you. It's just, your appearance makes it difficult for me not to view you as a child. I would never allow my own children to develop in the manner you have, so it is difficult for me to simply ignore your behavior. Still, that doesn't justify my own behavior, so, while you might be unwilling to forgive me, know that I am sorry."

Not expecting Vahn to suddenly apologize, the hateful look on Maschenny's face gradually became one of confusion as the lightning around her body slowly fizzled out. Then, with a slightly conflicted look on her face, she complained, "Someone as powerful as you shouldn't be apologizing to others. It makes you seem weak. How am I supposed to raise my head up high when the person capable of defeating me is seen as a weakling by others? Have some self-respect..."

Chuckling in response to Maschenny's words, Vahn manifested a Japanese-style tea set before producing a few snacks and saying, "Come and take a seat. I will tell you about my journey thus far and allow you to view a recording of my battle against Adori, Hagipherione, and your counterpart. I imagine you are quite interested how strong the latter has become?"

Though she was initially going to refuse, Maschenny's interest was piqued the moment she heard Vahn mention owning a recording of his battle against her true self. Her primary goal upon leaving the Hidden Floor was to overcome her original and cement herself as the superior Maschenny, so, while it felt like she was being baited inward, her curiosity and desire to grow strong compelled her forward. This ended up being a 'mistake', as, the moment she ate one of the seemingly innocuous-looking cookies, her mind and tastebuds had been awakened to a new and highly addictive world of flavor...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Imagine thinking you can sneak up on Madara xD...','Peacekeeper Orihime-chan~!','Vahn be like, "Come to the Light Side. We have cookies..."')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh


章節 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...')

https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link)

paypal.me/Einlion

Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh


Load failed, please RETRY

每周推薦票狀態

批量訂閱

目錄

顯示選項

背景

EoMt的

大小

章評

寫檢討 閱讀狀態: C1919
無法發佈。請再試一次
  • 寫作品質
  • 更新的穩定性
  • 故事發展
  • 人物形象設計
  • 世界背景

總分 0.0

評論發佈成功! 閱讀更多評論
用推薦票投票
Rank 200+ 推薦票榜
Stone 201 推薦票
舉報不當內容
錯誤提示

舉報暴力內容

段落註釋

登錄

tip 段落評論

段落註釋功能現已上線!將滑鼠移到任何段落上,然後按下圖示以添加您的評論。

此外,您可以隨時在「設置」 中將其關閉/ 打開。

明白了