章節 1992: Haste

Though it had only been for a brief moment, Hana releasing her flames within the Palace of Swords had reduced much of the Sword Altar's interior to superheated slag and molten stone. Despite this, Hon, Han, and Eduan could be seen standing around rather leisurely, unperturbed by the heat.

Using a pocket watch he had carried with him even before the Age of Ascension, Han, showing far greater concern than his two compatriots, asked, "How long are we going to continue idling? I trust in Hana's Immortality, but what if the Sage Dragon Emperor attempts to capture her? If he takes her into his Little Garden, negotiations will be difficult..."

Reacting to Han's concerns, Hon, who had been standing silently with his eyes closed, opened them to answer, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has illustrated, time and again, that he has no interest in the politics of the Tower. Do you really believe he would do something like taking hostages? What does he stand to gain?"

Answering in Han's stead, Eduan chimed in to note, "Hana is quite beautiful...." in a dull monotone. This earned him slight frowns from the other two, but, seeing a nascent smile develop on the blue-haired man's face, they quickly realized he was just messing with him.

Suppressing a sigh, Hon snapped his pocket watch shut before placing it safely within his Inventory and asking, "What do the two of you intend to do when all of this is over? I can already guess what most of our compatriots will choose. Still, it's better to know for sure. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind traveling together like we used to. It's been...a long time..."

Though he wasn't particularly fond of Han's implication they had already lost, Hon took a moment to spread his senses through their surroundings before answering, "Regardless of what happens in the future, I will most likely remain here. I realized, long ago, that I would never be able to reach the pinnacle. Now that I am being forced to abdicate my position, I will most likely act as a Guardian for my family. Once I have groomed a suitable successor, I will challenge the trials of the Tower with my own hands. After that...well, only the future knows..."

Surprised by Hon's honesty, both Han and Eduan showed varying degrees of astonishment on their faces. Hon, at normal times, possessed a rather frosty, borderline unfriendly, disposition. He was the type of person who wouldn't even bat an eye if one of his own children were cut down right in front of him. Rather, depending on the circumstances, there was a fair chance he would be the one to cut them down, not as punishment, but to 'preserve' their skill and power within the Arie Family...

Feeling that it was his turn to speak, Eduan was about to express his own intentions for the future when a not-so-subtle spatial ripple appeared a few meters above them. This was more than a little surprising, but, rather than showing it on his face, Eduan maintained an apathetic expression as he asked, "Back so soon? Hana might not have been the most powerful among us, but I can't imagine she would lose this quickly..."

Ignoring the man's remark, Vahn focused his gaze on Hon, saying, "There is no need to discuss the specifics. As for my representatives..."

Waving his hand, Vahn manifested Yuri and Mikoto out of thin air, adding, "There is myself, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, one of my personal Pokemon, Misaka Mikoto, and one of your former Princesses, Ha Yuri. As for the matchups-"

Before Vahn could finish, a small jolt of electricity entered his body, courtesy of a red-faced Mikoto. Though it made her feel a little happy, being casually introduced as Vahn's 'personal Pokemon' was more than a little embarrassing. Sure, she might have been the one to ask him to 'choose her', quite some time ago, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with him announcing it to the world...

Though he paused for a very brief moment, Vahn's expression ultimately remained unchanged as he pointed towards Han and said, "We'll start with the lowest ranking member of each team. Since you're Ranked 19, that means you'll have the misfortune of facing off against Yuri. Good luck."

A stark contrast to the uneasiness visible in Han's expression, a rather sizeable shockwave erupted from Yuri's body as she shouted, "Hell yeah! I've been looking forward to this! I can't wait to see the looks on those smug bastards' faces after I wipe the floor with you...!"

Further emphasizing her excitement, Yuri allowed her tail to uncoil from around her waist as violent red Ki exploded from her body. This surprised the three Family Leaders quite a bit, not because she had an overwhelming aura, but because Ki and Mana had been their main source of power prior to entering the Tower. Unfortunately, neither had been present within the Tower, so, the moment their internal reserves ran dry, it took days, if not weeks, for them to fully replenish their stocks. This was what had forced them to undergo Revolution all those years ago, as, prior to that moment, most of them had been entirely reliant on Ki and Mana.

Sensing the phenomenal power surging from Yuri's body, a glimmer of excitement appeared within Eduan's eyes as he remarked, "Remarkable. A truly splendid woman..."

Following his words, Eduan's figure vanished like a phantom, but, before he could grasp Yuri's hand and attempt to woo her with his heinous power, Vahn appeared between them, saying, "You've lost your fucking mind..."

Without waiting for the man's response, Vahn attempted to punch Eduan in his perfectly sculpted face, his fist forming a black trail as it ripped through both space and time. To the latter's credit, he was able to react to this, but, the moment Vahn's fist met with his guard, Eduan was sent smashing through the Sword Altar with such speed and intensity that he appeared to teleport from his initial location.

With vibrant blue lightning dancing across his left hand, Vahn flexed his fingers a few times before looking towards Mikoto and saying, "You might want to fight him in your Pokemon form. That man is even worse than me when it comes to women. Be careful of his right hand. I doubt he will be able to force a Tier 5 to submit, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

Nodding her head, Mikoto promptly transformed into her Pikachu form, tiny gold runes appearing beneath her fur as a shroud of golden lightning enveloped her body. Then, far faster than even Han could perceive, she completely vanished. Moments later, the sound of a distant explosion could be heard, but, rather than focusing on that, Vahn shifted his attention to Yuri, saying, "Good luck." with a relaxed smile on his face.

Though she experienced a moment of panic when Eduan focused his intent on her, Yuri ultimately managed to retain a confident smile, asking, "Luck? Who needs that? I already won the lottery when I managed to sink my teeth into you. Now I just need to kick this brat's ass. Easy peasy."

Punctuating her words, Yuri drew the Black March and Green April from her Reel Inventory, igniting both as a violent red aura erupted from her body. She had been waiting a long time to teach the Ari Family a lesson, so, now that their Leader was right in front of her, there was no way she would back down. This placed Han in a somewhat difficult position, but, understanding the temperament of the Ha Family, he responded by drawing his rapier-like Needles and saying, "Let's see how much you've grown..."

Without thinking deeply about the meaning contained in Han's words, Yuri lunged forward faster than a flash, the Black March leaving an abyssal black trail as she attempted to bifurcate her rather petite opponent. To her surprise, fairy-like wings appeared at Han's back and ankle as he used the very tip of his Needle to deflect her attack, muttering, "Ari Style Secret Technique - Fairy Waltz..."

Faster than most people could react, Han's Needles began tracing countless silvery arcs towards Yuri's tendons and joints. He wasn't particularly fond of bloodshed and killing, so, more often than not, he dealt with his opponents by disabling them with extremely precise and swift strikes. He even coated his weapons in a special anesthetic, a medicine designed to numb the body and inhibit pain.

Though she did her best to deflect as many attacks as she could, Han's speed was far beyond Yuri's expectations. It felt like, for every two blows she deflected, eight more would prick various parts of her body. Fortunately, like the majority of Vahn's women, she had received a number of accessories that effectively made her immune to status abnormalities. This, combined with her inordinately high regeneration, allowed her to ignore minor injuries, so, rather than focusing on defense, the intensity of Yuri's eyes increased as she shouted, "Eat this, you little shit...!"

Punctuating her words, a phenomenal amount of Ki gathered at Yuri's left foot as she attempted to kick between Han's legs. This caused a violent tremble to pass through the latter's body, compelling him to evade backward as Yuri exclaimed, "Nuclear Kick...!"

Though the name might have sounded a little flashy, the massive explosion generated in the wake of Yuri's kick demonstrated it wasn't to be taken lightly. From a distance, you could even see a large mushroom cloud forming as the energy began to disperse and fold in on itself after breaching the upper atmosphere.

With a few beads of sweat appearing on his brow, a wry smile developed across Han's face as he remarked, "I understand your desire to win, but can we try and avoid aiming for each others' more 'sensitive' regions? Even if I'm Immortal, that's the kind of pain that can make one wish they were dead..."

Using the Green April to disperse the remnant dust and debris, Yuri eyed Han with an inordinately serious expression on her face as she asked, "What's your deal? You aren't behaving as a Leader of a Great Family should. I understand that the Ari Family is filled with petulant cowards and uptight assholes, but I didn't think it extended all the way to the top."

Aiming for the moment when Han was about to answer her question, Yuri extended the blade of the Black March, its tip impacting his chest like a bolt of black lightning. This caused a deep frown to develop across her face, not because the attack had failed, but because Han was clearly looking down on her if he couldn't even evade something like the extension of the Black March...

---

Observing the battle between Yuri and Han from the distance, Vahn stood in the air with his arms crossed, eyes focused despite the fact he was also linking his senses with Mikoto. At his side, fewer than ten meters away, Hon stood with a pristine white sword in hand, clearly indicating his intent to start their own battle. Unfortunately, even though he was looking directly at Vahn, he couldn't sense the latter's presence. This left him unsure about whether or not he should attack, so, at least for the time being, he just stood in the air, calmly awaiting the moment their climactic battle would begin.

Understanding the inordinately handsome man's thoughts, Vahn continued to willfully ignore him. His brief encounter with Hana had demonstrated that the Great Warriors weren't actually that great, so, while he had yet to lose interest in them completely, he no longer felt any pressure to deal with them. Even Hon's fangs had clearly dulled with the passage of time, so, now that he had confirmed their state with his own eyes, he was seriously considering just teleporting Jahad and the rest of the Great Warriors to him. He could always continue his journey after demonstrating there was nothing they could do against him, so, while Hon was eagerly looking forward to the fight to come, Vahn's mind had already started to wander to worlds beyond the Tower...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'At least they're being realists xD...','Eduan be digging his own grave...','Tier 4 is practically fodder at this point...')

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章節 1993: Tribulation

Shifting her gaze from the large mushroom cloud looming in the distance, Mikoto, appearing as a Pikachu, looked towards the remnants of a destroyed mountain. There, lying amongst the rubble, vibrant blue electricity dancing across his body, Eduan could be seen looking up at the sky with a vacant look on his face.

Though the attack hadn't inflicted any meaningful damage to him, Eduan was bewildered by the realization that he had been unable to perceive Vahn's initial movement. Even more surprising was that his intuition was informing him that the only reason he had been able to react to Vahn's punch was that the latter had allowed it...

Raising his right hand, Eduan appeared as though he was attempting to grasp the sky, the glove on his right hand releasing a low hum as the embossed pattern on its surface glowed with a faint blue light. Immediately thereafter, massive storm clouds began to billow in the sky as a vivacious purple hue rapidly spread through his electric blue eyes.

Observing the phenomenon with a calculating look in her eyes, Mikoto briefly considered whether or not she should even allow Eduan the opportunity to fight back. There didn't seem to be any real benefits to facing him 'fairly', and, while he was certainly very powerful, watching him gather energy was like observing a child taking their first steps into the domain of the strong. This might seem like an exaggeration, but, compared to Magic Gods and Archangels who could destroy infinite universes with a single spell, watching someone manipulate the weather was almost boring...

Shaking her head, Mikoto decided she would settle things by teaching Eduan a lesson. The entity known as The Beginning had bequeathed her the title of Magic God of Lightning and Tribulations, so, after a brief period of consideration, the runes across her body began to light up as she began bobbing her tail in a strange rhythm. In response, a massive golden spell circle appeared in the sky, intercepting a few bolts of purple lightning that had started to gather above the stunned Eduan.

Though a part of her felt obligated to explain what she was about to do, Mikoto, knowing some of the crimes Eduan was guilty of, ultimately just dropped to a quadrupedal stance, the yellow hairs on her back standing on end as she raised her tail like the blade of an executioner. Then, before Eduan could even consider evading, a black trail appeared as she dropped her tail in a single swift motion. At the same time, thin bolts of lightning, their breadth no more than 35mm, began to stream down at a speed far greater than traditional lightning.

Under normal circumstances, Eduan wasn't simply immune to Lightning Elemental Energy, he could absorb it without limit. Unfortunately, despite Ki and Mana being relatively common concepts back on his homeworld, something like a Heavenly Tribulation was only observable in fiction, not the real world. Thus, without considering for a moment that he would be unable to absorb the thin bands of lightning, Eduan attempted to gather it towards his palm with a completely apathetic expression.

Realizing his mistake far too late, Eduan's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as pain immediately spread through his body, visible cracks appearing across its surface. He responded to this by trying to flee, but, the moment he tried to leap away, the gravitational force acting upon his body seemed to increase by thousands of folds.

With his body forced to prostrate, the apathetic expression on Eduan's face immediately gave way for a far more serious, enthusiastic, and slightly fearful look. Then, as golden lightning continued to smash into his back, forcibly refining each cell in his body, an extraordinary aura began to emanate from his very soul as he released a feral cry that seemed to echo through the heavens.

Though he had willingly followed Jahad, Eduan refused to bow to anyone or anything, the singular exception being the mother who had painstakingly raised him to be the hero of their ruined world. Thus, the moment he was forced to prostrate, his power began to increase exponentially as a desire to raise his head and overcome the golden lightning swelled within his heart.

To his credit, Eduan was able to force himself to his hands and knees, but, the moment he tried to get his feet under him, several bands of lightning flashed across the surface of the strange magical circle looming overhead. Immediately after that, a bolt of lightning thicker than a wrist impacted his back, instantaneously incinerating his tattered black cloak and causing the cracked skin beneath to become charred black.

With golden lightning venting from his mouth and eyes, Eduan immediately lost consciousness, but, in spite of this, he managed to remain on his hands and knees. Shortly after that, the magic circle in the sky began to dissipate, and, as a result, the purple lightning previously kept at bay began to rain down along with a veritable deluge of Shinsu.

Feeling the cooling sensation on his back, a bit of light returned to Eduan's faded eyes as a sudden and overwhelming urge to vomit rose from the pit of his stomach. Unable to suppress this, a large volume of abyssal black blood was expelled from his mouth, staining the ground below and causing an unnatural hissing sound to enter his ears. Looking closely, he noticed that the blood was actually eating into the ground below, almost as if it was a highly corrosive acid...

As thoughts of what the substance could be crossed his mind, Eduan's gaze was drawn to a bright yellow figure appearing in the periphery of his vision. There, untouched by both rain and lightning, a mouse-like creature with yellow fur and a tail reminiscent of a lightning bolt was staring back at him with hazel-brown eyes. It also had strange patterns covering its body, but, the moment he tried to focus his eyes, the pattern appeared to shift as a sensation similar to vertigo attacked his mind...

Shaking her head, Mikoto adopted a somewhat pitying expression as she said, "You're lucky to have survived. Under normal circumstances, failing to overcome a lightning tribulation results in death. It would appear your fate is quite powerful..."

Though he was marginally surprised that the peculiar mouse could speak, it didn't take Eduan long to realize that the strange creature was something created by Vahn. This caused a self-deprecating smile to develop across his face as he ignored the agonizing pain emanating from his body, rolling onto his back before stating, "To think...I endured these last ten-thousand-years only to be defeated by someone's pet...I don't know whether I should laugh or cry..."

Frowning in response to Eduan's words, Mikoto immediately chimed in to say, "I'm not a pet! I'm a Pokemon! There's a massive difference...!"

Without showing any indication that he had heard Mikoto's outburst, Eduan just continued to stare up at the sky until his smile gradually relaxed into his usual, apathetic, expression. Then, in a somber tone that didn't quite suit someone with an appearance bordering on the ethereal, he asked, "Can I ask you something...?"

As there was no particular reason for her to refuse, Mikoto cocked her head to the side for a brief moment before answering, "Sure. As long as it isn't anything too personal, I don't mind answering your questions."

With the edges of his lips curling up almost imperceptibly, Eduan muttered a soft, "Thanks..." before falling silent for several seconds. This left Mikoto feeling somewhat uncomfortable, but, fortunately, he didn't keep her waiting for too long, asking, "Are there Gods even more powerful than the Sage Dragon Emperor in the worlds beyond the Tower? Is it possible to reach that level through training and effort...?"

Seeing no harm in answering the two questions, Mikoto didn't hesitate to nod her head, answering, "Vahn is certainly very powerful, but, compared to the beings at the absolute pinnacle, he still has a long way to go. Fortunately, he isn't known as the God of Infinite Possibilities for nothing. Unless he gives up, it is only a matter of time until he reaches the top. This applies to everyone, so, to answer your second question; yes, it is possible to reach such a level through training. It's just that, without fate to guide them, most people lack the willpower and resolution necessary to do so."

Detecting no falsehoods in Mikoto's statement, a thoughtful glimmer flashed through Eduan's eyes as he forced himself to a seated position. Then, despite understanding it was futile, he extended his right hand toward Mikoto, palm facing upward as if he were trying to tempt a tiny creature to come closer. Instead, the latter just scowled at him, golden electricity flashing across her body as she said, "You really are broken..."

Rather than taking offense to the accusation, Eduan just issued a slight chuckle before retracting his hand and saying, "You can't blame me for trying. I may not have the same kind of disposition as Lo Po Bia or Gustang but I can still appreciate strange and fascinating creatures. I also recall your form from earlier...you're a bit on the youthful side, but your beauty can't be refused. Were I allowed your favor, even for a moment, I believe I would be able to die with a smile on my face..."

Though she wasn't even remotely swayed by Eduan's words, Mikoto could feel her heart skip a beat when she saw him flash a sincere yet possessive smile. It was the kind of look that could cause even the most frigid of women to melt, but, understanding the type of man Eduan was, Mikoto furrowed her brows, stating, "You are unworthy." in a firm, threatening, tone.

Without losing his smile, Eduan shifted his gaze away from Mikoto, the horizon reflected in his eyes as he softly mused, "I wonder if this is what heartbreak feels like..."

---

Though he was constantly linking his senses with other people, it didn't take long for Vahn to detect Mikoto's victory. This drastically decreased his expectations for the other Great Warriors, as, despite being remarkably rusty, Eduan was still Ranked 6 within the Tower. The fact he couldn't even defend himself against Mikoto said a lot about the difference in their power, so, knowing he was quite a bit stronger than the adorable Electromaster, most of Vahn's tensions simply faded away...

Sensing the sudden change, Hon instinctually tightened the grip he had on his sword, but, before he could even think to attack, his body tensed up as a runic blade covered in fiery cracks appeared at his neck. Then, in a tone that left no room for discussion, Vahn stated, "Don't even think about it. Our fight will come. Of that, you can be certain. For now, however, I would rather observe the battle taking place below. If you find this disagreeable, please, feel free to voice your opinion..."

Feeling the heat radiating from Vahn's blade, seemingly ignoring the aura covering his body, Hon felt an almost irresistible urge to swallow. Instead, he floated back slightly, distancing himself from the paradoxically plain yet extravagant-looking blade as he answered, "I am also interested in the outcome of this battle..."

Nodding his head, Vahn allowed Laev-tan to dissipate before folding his arms and returning his gaze to the now-devastated Sword Altar. Yuri had a habit of generating massive shockwaves with each of her attacks, so, despite being constructed from remarkably durable material, the Palace of Swords now resembled ancient ruins. Despite this, she had yet to inflict any meaningful damage on Han, who, from the moment his initial attack had proven ineffective, shifted entirely to defense. This was causing Yuri quite a bit of stress, as, even after going Super Saiyan, Han's speed allowed him to stay just beyond her reach...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Mikoto be like, "Is this even worth my time...?"','To be honest, even though Eduan is a massive cuck, I can't really blame him for being envious of Vahn...','I kind of feel bad for Han xD...')

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