章節 2158: Stepping Up
While Qingtaun returned to her seat, Lei Gong stayed in the arena to accept additional challenges. It was customary for the higher-ranked Gods to appear first, and, if no one challenged them, they would step down and keep their rank for another year. They also had the option of challenging a higher rank than themselves, but, as the Rank 9 God, Lei Gong's options were pretty limited.
"Well!? Is this the limit of your conviction!? Are none of you brave enough to step forward and challenge this old man!?"
Glaring at a few of the Gods ranked between 10 and 20, Lei Gong's expression made it clear he was looking down on them. Unfortunately, none of the Gods beneath him were foolish enough to step forward. The only person who even considered it was Nezha, but, after their earlier altercation with Vor, they wanted to preserve their strength.
Seeing none of his fellows step forward, a disdainful snort escaped Lei Gong's beak as he prepared to depart the arena. Before he could, however, a feminine voice excitedly declared, "If it's an open invitation, I wouldn't mind having a go."
Like everyone else in the hall, Lei Gong's cerulean eyes promptly shifted to the person that had spoken. When he saw Mikoto rising to her feet, a look of confusion briefly flashed across his face before he ultimately adopted a smile and bellowed, "Very well, Faerie from a Foreign Land! Enter the arena! Let's show these cowardly louts what a bit of backbone looks like...!"
Though a number of Gods expressed their dissatisfaction by glaring at Mikoto, any complaints they might have had were silenced when she flashed into the arena faster than most of them could blink. Even Lei Gong was surprised by this, as, the moment Mikoto flashed into the arena, he could detect a hint of the phenomenal energy contained within her body.
With a far more serious expression on his face, Lei Gong reached for his holstered weapons before bellowing, "You stand before the Venerable God of Thunder, Lei Gong! Reveal your name, fearless one...!"
Since Lei Gong had already drawn his weapons, Mikoto didn't see any reason to hold back. Vibrant bands of electricity began to dance around her body as she stepped forward, an action that caused most of the arena to tremble as she answered, "The name's Mikoto Mason...!"
Punctuating her words, Mikoto's body exuded a brilliant light with the activation of her [REquip] system. In the next moment, the oriental garb she had been wearing was substituted by a black hoodie with accents of electric yellow. Beneath that was a black t-shirt, a pair of form-fitting black shorts, black leggings, and black tennis shoes with the same design as her hoodie. It was a modern yet fashionable look that caused people like Nezha to watch on with stars in their eyes and Mikoto stepped forward to send a veritable tidal wave of pitch-black iron sand towards Lei Gong.
To his credit, Lei Gong wasn't caught off guard by Mikoto's sudden attack. He immediately leaped into the sky, and, thanks to the temperature from his own lightning, he was able to both melt and sweep away the encroaching iron sand with a wave from his mallet.
"Not bad! Not bad at all! I'm guessing you use this ability both offensively and defensively! Let's see how it holds up, shall we!?"
Similar to when he had fought against Qingtaun, Lei Gong ascended high into the air as the mallet and chisel in his hands began to condense a tremendous amount of lightning elemental energy. At the same time, vibrant blue arcs of electricity danced around Mikoto's body as she raised her right hand and condensed the surrounding iron sand into a remarkably compact projectile resembling a coin.
With the feathers on the back of his neck standing on end, Lei Gong's excitement was increasing at a remarkably fast pace as he shouted, "First Heavenly Tribulation - Penance...!"
While others would try to evade or black Lei Gong's attack, Mikoto surprised everyone by standing her ground. Her AIM Diffusion Field, the medium through which her power manifested, was capable of encompassing entire stars, much less a single arena. Within its confines, she was the uncontested master of electromagnetism, so, the moment Lei Gong released his lightning, it arced back to strike him in the chest as she stated, "Mass Acceleration Cannon." in a calm and confident tone.
Stunned by his own lightning, Lei Gong's pupils shrank to the size of pinholes the moment Mikoto unleashed the hyper-dense iron projectile gathered at the tips of her fingers. Its speed was reduced by the inordinately dense spirit energy that existed within the Heavenly Domain, but, even with this, its instantaneous acceleration exceeded Mach 800,000.
Under normal circumstances, Lei Gong could easily evade even lightspeed attacks without any real difficulty. This time, however, the combination of his own lightning and Mikoto's flawless timing left him wholly incapable of responding. As a result, the projectile impacted the plating of his pauldron before passing through his right shoulder and wing in nearly the exact same moment.
Seeing Lei Gong spontaneously lose an arm, many of the lower-ranked Gods gasped in surprise. Lei Gong, however, adopted a massive grin as he promptly grabbed his detached limb before spinning around and hurtling it towards Mikoto. To the latter's surprise, the appendage literally transformed into a golden spear with the chisel in his hand serving as the head.
Choosing not to underestimate her opponent, Mikoto teleported behind Lei Gong long before the spear pierced through her previous position. Before she could unleash an attack, however, the silk hagoromo flowing around Lei Gong's neck and shoulders attempted to bind her. At the same time, Lei Gong spun around fast enough to leave a visible black trail through the void as his mallet aimed at her shoulder.
Realizing that the avian god was trying to get even with her, an amused smile developed across Mikoto's face as her body promptly contracted to the size of an ordinary house cat. As a result, Lei Gong's mallet passed through her previous position as Mikoto, now in her Pikachu form, unleashed a cataclysmic thunderbolt instantaneously filled the arena. From the perspective of the observers, a vibrant blue cube had formed atop the battlefield. Many misunderstood this to be the result of the barrier surrounding the elevated platform, but, in reality, Mikoto had such an absolute mastery over lightning that she could freely shape it to avoid accidents.
With the intensity of the light growing rather than dissipating, many within the banquet hall had to squint their eyes or look away. This continued for a surprisingly long seventeen seconds before the light faded to reveal Lei Gong, now resembling an eagle that had been struck by lightning, kneeling on the ground. His feathers were in disarray and his body was covered in burns, yet, in spite of this, he had a remarkably human smile on his face as he said, "Well done...this battle...is your win..."
Unable to dissipate Mikoto's energy from his body, thick bands of electricity began to emerge from Lei Gong's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Before it could fry him from the inside, however, the energy promptly dissipated thanks to the protections of the Gift Game. Immediately thereafter, a pale blue light enveloped his body before he subsequently appeared outside the arena with his arm attached. This was one of the primary benefits of a well-structured Gift Game, as, unless the rules specifically allowed death, defeated Players would simply be ejected from the Game Board without so much as a hair missing from their head.
Flexing the talons of his right hand, Lei Gong's smile became even more prominent as he looked up at Mikoto and added, "Good luck, Mikoto Mason. I doubt-"
Before Lei Gong could finish saying he doubted anyone would be willing to face her, a thunderclap echoed off the walls of the banquet hall as a woman with lavender hair and the largest breasts Vahn had ever seen promptly appeared at the center of the arena. This wasn't an exaggeration either, as, due to the revealing nature of her garments, her remarkably substantial cleavage was visible for the whole world to see.
"I do not possess a Rank but I hope you'll accept my challenge..."
Though she was going to say she didn't mind, Mikoto found herself at a loss for words as her eyes zeroed in on the woman's chest. It had been years since she suffered from breast envy, but, seeing a pair of breasts large enough to swallow her head twice over, she couldn't help gawking like a fool.
Taking advantage of Mikoto's momentary stupor, the woman unsheathed an inordinately large Jian-style longsword, shouting, "Defend yourself...!" as she charged forward with a speed rivaling spatial movement. At the same time, Lei Gong, having recovered from his stupid, shouted, "Leizi! What are you doing...!?"
Ignoring Lei Gong's shout, Leizi, the Principle Goddess of Lightning within the Heavenly Domain, sliced towards the wide-eyed Mikoto's neck. Her skills were somewhat lacking, at least in Vahn's opinion, but, the moment she cut forward, a blinding light reminiscent of lightning instantly filled the center of the arena. There was also a sound evocative of a thunderclap, but, compared to the thunderous rumble produced by Lei Gong's drums, it sounded distant and muffled, almost like an echo.
To the surprise of nearly everyone present, Leizi's sword passed through Mikoto's neck without the latter reacting. Even Leizi was somewhat surprised, but, after seeing her husband get his arm blown off, she couldn't help smiling at Mikoto's head spun through the air. Unfortunately, just as she was about to raise her sword in triumph, both the head and Mikoto's body disappeared as an unharmed version of the brunette appeared behind her.
Though she could have ended the match then and there, Mikoto manifested a longsword from iron sand before surprising Leizi with a tap on the shoulder. The latter immediately spun around, but, as a result of her inordinately large bosom, her movements were, very noticeably, delayed as the fabric of her gown desperately attempted to preserve her dignity. As a result, Mikoto had nanoseconds to stare at the melon-sized mammaries in slow motion before casually deflecting Leizi's blade with her own.
Clicking her tongue, Leizi retreated backward before running her index and middle fingers along the flat of her blade. Hundreds of electric-blue runes immediately lit up across its surface as pale golden electricity began to dance around its length. This ended up being a grave mistake, as, the moment she was preparing to unleash her attack, Mikoto offered an apologetic smile as the pale golden electricity immediately crawled up Leizi's arm.
Sensing the inverse flow of electrical energy, Leizi's pupils contracted in much the same way as her husband's. Unfortunately, she had been gripping her sword tightly, so, the moment she sensed the change, extremely destructive lightning was already spreading through her body. The energy was so intense that her forearm immediately carbonized as painful golden cracks spread as far as her elbow.
While a lesser Goddess might have dropped her weapon, Leizi managed to earn Mikoto's respect by absorbing the lightning into her body, ignoring the pain as she charged forward with clenched teeth. Her pride as the Goddess of Lightning wouldn't allow her to fall to her own element, so, with the aid of her Qi, she forcibly channeled it back into the blade as she unleashed a series of attacks that left visible scorch marks on the previously invisible barrier surrounding the arena.
Unfortunately, no matter how desperate she was to 'avenge' her husband, Leizi was limited by her status as a Tier 4. Mikoto had gone toe-to-toe with Gods who could destroy universes with a wave of their hand, so, while she appreciated and respected Leizi's fervor, the outcome had been decided long before the match began. Leizi's only hope was for Mikoto to lower her guard, but, with a mind that could humble even the most exceptional supercomputers, the chances of that happening were beyond astronomical...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Lei Gong doesn't know it, but he's courting death...','Mikoto uses Reverse Card...it's super effective...!','All the nutrients intended for Leizi's brain went into her bust xD...')
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章節 2159: Dominance
Though she did her best to persist, it was only ever a matter of time before Leizi ran out of stamina. The damage caused by her lightning had spread beyond her elbow, and, thanks to Mikoto's greater mastery, Leizi could only grit her teeth as each of her attacks was deflected or dodged.
"I think it's about time we wrap this up. I don't want to see you destroy your body any further..."
Punctuating her words, Mikoto dodged one of Leizi's attacks at a hair's breadth before stepping in to strike the busty Goddess's abdomen. To the casual observer, this looked like a relatively simple blow, but, in reality, Mikoto had placed a temporary seal on Leizi's Dantian. This wasn't enough to render her powerless but it was more than enough to interfere with her ongoing efforts to restrain the lightning running rampant in her body.
By the time Mikoto had withdrawn her hand, Leizi's figure had already faded into motes of bluish-white light. Immediately thereafter, she appeared next to Lei Gong with a vexed look on her face and tears in her eyes.
Seeing the aggrieved look on Leizi's face, Mikoto awkwardly scratched her cheek as she began to wonder whether or not she should apologize. Fortunately, before she could make up her mind, Lei Gong enveloped his wife from behind using his wings and arms, whispering, "Calm your rage, my little thunderclap. Faerie Mikoto has not wronged us in any way..."
As if she had never been angry, the look on Leizi's face became as docile as a kitten in response to her husband's embrace. She also enjoyed being enveloped by his wings. Their warmth allowed her to feel safe, secure, and, most importantly, they prevented people from staring at her chest...
Feeling his wife lean into him, a remarkably human expression of affection spread across Lei Gong's face as he gently preened her hair. This earned him the jealously and resentment of his fellow Gods, but, as such attitudes were remarkably commonplace within the Heavenly Domain, Lei Gong simply ignored them as Huangdi went on to announce, "That makes two successive victories for our young guest hailing from the Sage Dragon's Hearth! It appears yet another rising star has appeared in the Little Garden's East Side~."
Breaking the awkward silence that had descended upon the banquet hall, Huangdi began to clap in acknowledgment of Mikoto's triumph. This was quickly followed by Vahn, Fenrir, and, after several seconds, nearly everyone in the hall. None of them were brave enough to face off against someone who could casually defeat the Gods of Thunder and Lightning, so, while they weren't all that fond of outsiders, the only person brazen enough to speak out was Nezha...
"Yeah, yeah~! Kick their asses~! Woooooooooh~!"
With his daughter causing a scene at his side, a frown marred Li Jing's perpetually stern face as he manifested the 'Fiery Jade Pagoda' in his right hand. He had forbidden Nezha from speaking out after the previous incident, so, now that she had defied him, he had no choice but to teach her a lesson. The moment he attempted to, however, the pagoda fractured as an authoritative voice that only he could hear said, "I ignored it earlier but if you keep treating your daughter as if she were a prisoner, we're going to have a problem..."
Feeling an oppressive chill spread through his body, Li Jing didn't immediately shout out or draw attention to himself. Instead, he followed the intent contained within the voice until he found Vahn staring at him with luminescent golden eyes.
Realizing that the person who had threatened him was an outsider, Li Jing's expression immediately darkened him. In spite of this, he didn't say anything. After all, Mikoto was part of Vahn's entourage. Unless she was his bodyguard, this implied that Vahn was much stronger than her. Even if he wasn't, there was nothing Li Jing, the Rank 23, could do against an opponent capable of defeating the Rank 9 with ease...
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Seeing Li Jing break eye contact and lower his head, the urge to snort briefly entered Vahn's mind before promptly vanishing as he shifted his attention back to the arena. The relationship between Li Jing and Nezha wasn't really his concern, but, after seeing how readily the latter's father resorted to pulling out his pagoda, Vahn couldn't help feeling annoyed.
Though Nezha was clearly a troublesome youth, it wasn't to the level that their behavior mandated being sealed away or suppressed every time they acted out. If anything, sealing them away actually made Nezha's behavior worse as rebelliousness couldn't be solved using the same punishment over and over.
The correct method when dealing with rebelliousness was patience and understanding. You needed to lower yourself to the other person's level and ascertain why they were lashing out. After that, you needed to lay out clear expectations for them before working together to improve their behavior. If you resorted to punishment without even trying to address the underlying issue, the only thing you would accomplish is desensitizing the child and reinforcing the idea you regarded them as more of an inconvenience than offspring.
While he was far from a perfect father, at least in his own mind, Vahn couldn't help taking issue with the fact some parents didn't even try. Li Jing behaved more like a Warden than a father, and, based on Nezha's appearance and disposition, it was pretty obvious they resented being kept on a leash. If they could, Vahn imagined they would break away without a second thought...
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Hearing Nezha cheering for her, Mikoto looked over to find the tomboyish youth waving her way with an excited grin on their face. Her acknowledgment seemed to excite the twin-tailed youth even further, as, the moment their eyes met, Nezha proceeded to violently shake Ao Bing before happily exclaiming, "She looked at me~!" in a distinctly high-pitched tone of voice.
While smiling wryly in response to Nezha's behavior, Mikoto couldn't help thinking back to the time she spent in the Actualized World of the Toaruverse. Nezha's behavior reminded her of Kuroko and some of the more enthusiastic members of her Fanclub. This caused her to feel nostalgic, but, at the same time, Mikoto got the unmistakable impression that Nezha would become a stalker in the very near future...
With that thought in mind, Mikoto came to the conclusion that it was probably for the best if she stepped down. It didn't seem like anyone was going to challenge her, and, while she could always challenge an opponent directly, she wanted to remain in top condition to safeguard Vahn. The only reason she stepped up to challenge Lei Gong was to give her opponents an initial impression of her strength and prevent weakling from pestering him.
Fortunately, no one spoke out even as Mikoto returned to her seat. Instead, Huangdi waited until she had sat down before caressing his beard and musing, "It seems our younger generation is a bit lacking in spirit..."
Though a few of the younger gods were annoyed by Huangdi's words, none of them dared to speak out against him. Huangdi was the former Rank 3 prior to his appointment as Chamberlain of the Jade Palace. He was also descended from a Pure-Blooded Dragon, so, even if they had ten lives, most of the Gods present wouldn't dare challenge him...
Chuckling in spite of the awkward silence, Huangdi ceased caressing his beard before asking, "Well? What are you waiting for? If someone doesn't step up in the next three minutes, this year's ranking competition will have officially come to an end. I had better not hear any comp-"
Before Huangdi could finish, Nezha leaped to their feet and shouted, "I want to challenge that big-tittied bimbo in the fourth row...!"
Making it transparently clear who she was talking about, Nezha trained her gaze and index finger at Vor. In response, the ashen-haired woman merely raised her brows before staring down at her chest and remarking, "They aren't that big..." as if it was the most important part of Nezha's declaration.
While most people would vehemently disagree with her, it was hard to argue with Vor's statement after the appearance of a Goddess like Leizi. The latter clocked in at a truly astounding 140cm, so, while Vor was quite large at 88cm, her bust was fairly modest in comparison...
Despite glowering in response to Vor's words, a faint red hue spread through Nezha's cheeks as they shouted, "Who the fuck cares!? Get your fat ass in the arena so I can shove my foot up it...!"
Though she did rise in response to Nezha's words, Vor didn't immediately proceed to the arena. Instead, she craned her head back in an attempt to get a look at her backside. Her bust was modest in comparison to the Goddess of Lightning but the size and shape of her rump was breathtaking. It was usually hidden behind her armored battledress, but, in an attempt to get a better look, Vor had briefly given her side of the hall a glimpse by removing it...
Seeing the eyes of every god near Vor turn round as saucers, the only thing preventing Nezha from attacking directly was their understanding that Li Jing would immediately intervene. This would get in the way of their desire to beat the living daylights out of Vor, so, rather than continuing to shout, Nezha manifested golden, blade-like wheels beneath their feet before igniting them and leaving a visible path of flame through the sky as they soared to the center of the arena.
Following Nezha's actions with her eyes, Vor promptly manifested her battledress before surprising everyone focused on her by instantaneously disappearing. Even the Gods closest to her unable to follow her movements, and, before they fully understood what had happened, a tremor ran through the hall as a loud explosion rocked the center of the arena.
While most of the gods in the hall were still confused, Ao Bing immediately jumped to his feet, shouting, "Nezha...!" at the top of his lungs. This caused a few Gods to cast glances towards him, confusion marring their faces when they saw how fretful the inordinately pale and androgynous youth had become.
Clearing a bit of the confusion, a secondary shockwave promptly dispersed the large cloud of dust that had formed at the center of the arena. When the Gods saw the scene within, disbelief became the most common response, as, despite mere seconds passing since the moment Nezha soared to the center of the arena, they were presently skewered and unconscious on Vor's ivory-white lance.
Adding to their incredulity, Vor, appearing as impassive as she had during her first encounter with Nezha, softly remarked, "I thought you would be stronger..." before pressing a small button on the hilt of her lance. In response, the turbine-like component replacing the lance's pommel hummed to life as vibrant golden electricity began to dance across its surface. Then, despite having clearly won the fight, Vor brandished her lance in a way that caused Nezha's unconscious body to ascend high above the arena before unleashing a terrifying beam of abyssal black energy that pierced through the encompassing barrier as if it didn't exist...
Reacting before said beam could punch a hole in the Jade Palace itself, Huangdi twisted his hand to create a spatial vortex in its path. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead due to his draconic heritage, but, as powerful as Vor was, she wasn't at the level where she could overwhelm the former Rank 3 of a 4-Digit Community. If she was that strong, the Jade Palace would have been subsumed by the Norse Faction a long time ago...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Zapdos is a surprisingly good husband o_o...','Is this the advent of the Biri-Biri Fanclub...!?','*Enuma Elish SFX*')
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