章節 2207: Coming Storm
While everyone else was focused on their missions, Sarina, entirely on her own, found herself in a rather precarious position.
Prior to the start of the Gift Game, Vahn had informed Sarina that she would be the Leader of the Sage Dragon's Hearth once he went on to establish the Aldrnari Empire. He also wanted to give her a platform to exhibit the power she had obtained during their stay in the Actualized World, so, with numerous blessings and various artifacts protecting her, Sarina managed to make her way into the very heart of Meng Zhang's, the Azure Dragon's territory without garnering attention.
Though he suffered quite a number of defeats at the hands of Wu, Meng Zhang was still among the most powerful beings affiliated with the Jade Palace. He was the Azure Dragon, Guardian of the East Gate, and Commander of the 4th Division of the Jade Palace's Divine Army.
Curiously enough, while Meng Zhang was famous for his mastery over the Dao of Space and Time, his true power resided in his ability to see the future and grant wishes. This was yet another reason he believed Vahn to be one of his manifestations or offshoots. After all, while it wasn't uncommon for Gods to impart Blessings and Gifts unto others, those with the power to grant wishes were few and far between.
Around the time of Zhao Shen's Immortal Banquet, Meng Zhang had greatly looked forward to his meeting with Vahn. He had even skipped out on the feast so that the two of them could meet in a less crowded, more traditional setting.
When Vahn failed to appear, Meng Zhang initially gave him the benefit of the doubt. He thought the former may have wanted to prepare a gift or something before their meeting, so, in the days following the banquet, Meng Zhang waited patiently for Vahn's arrival. Instead, the latter ended up departing both the Jade Palace and the Heavenly Domain without so much as sending a letter...
Though he had mellowed out quite a bit since the war against the Demon God, Meng Zhang had a reputation to uphold as an objective and ruthless individual. He was a True Long, a first-generation descendant of a Pure-Blooded Dragon. His pride didn't allow him to tolerate even perceived slights, so, following Vahn's failure to appear, Meng Zhang had entreated the Jade Emperor for the right to participate in the promotional Gift Game.
With his Lord's permission, Meng Zhang rallied every Player within his Community. This included his eight brides, twenty-three of his sons, seventeen of his daughters, and more than a hundred of their most promising descendants.
While eight wives, forty children, and more than a hundred grandchildren may sound like a lot, this was actually a painfully small amount in the eyes of Meng Zhang. Most of his immediate family had been wiped out during the previous war, and, while he would never admit it, the experience had left him a shell of his former self.
When Meng Zhang first witnessed Vahn's performance against the Leviathan's Tail Community, a rare smile replaced his characteristically impassive expression. He had spent the better part of the last three hundred years looking for someone to inherit his status and title as the Azure Dragon. In this regard, Vahn seemed like the perfect choice. Not only was he tyrannically powerful, but, more importantly, he hadn't been tainted by the politics of the Heavenly Domain and life within the Little Garden.
Unfortunately, Meng Zhang couldn't just come out and say he was looking for a replacement. If he did, his power would gradually wane as everyone, even his own sons and daughters would believe he had lost his spark. In the worst-case scenario, they would begin slaughtering one another over the opportunity to receive his Fragment of Origin.
Not wanting to see children brutalizing one another, Meng Zhang had decided, long ago, that his replacement would have to come from outside his family. To this end, the only two people he had informed of his intent to abdicate were the Jade Emperor and Huangdi. They lamented but wholly supported his decision, as, during the war against the Demon God, they each lost their fair share of descendants. Huangdi, in particular, ended up 'retiring' after losing all of his sons and all but one of his daughters in the conflict...
Unaware of Meng Zhang's intentions, a cold sweat broke had broken out across Sarina's body as she infiltrated the palatial structure that had appeared on the former's planet. The reason for her nervousness was the numerous, serpent-like dragons that dominated the sky overhead. Many of Meng Zhang's children were well over a hundred meters in length, and, much like their father, they possessed dominion over space, time, and lightning.
With the intention of giving Vahn an opportunity to redeem himself, Meng Zhang had ordered his children to protect their planet rather than venturing off to attack other words. As a result, the sky overhead was filled with the silhouettes of massive dragons playing amongst a backdrop of green, blue, gold, and even black lightning.
Though she was confident in her ability to defeat a dragon or two, seeing a literal flock had, at least for the time being, cowed Sarina's enthusiasm. Thus, rather than immediately throwing herself into the fray, she elected to gather information on the enemy's number and relative strength.
Fortunately, Sarina wasn't the only person to appear on Meng Zhang's planet. Members from the Kotoamatsukami, Trāyastriṃśa, and Akuma Communities had also appeared around the same time, so, taking advantage of the stealth capabilities of her outfit, Sarina observed the groups battling it out from the relative safety of Meng Zhang's palace.
Similar to the Scouter Vahn had made use of during their time in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Sarina's goggles possessed the ability to quantify and display the power of anything within her field of view. More importantly, it possessed a function to analyze the composition of various types of energy to give the user a basic understanding of the Laws at play in any given situation.
While her power level had exceeded 5.7 billion, Sarina had realized pretty early on that she didn't have a talent for martial arts. There was no way she could compete against powerhouses like Broly and Goku in terms of raw strength and potential, so, shortly after the defeat of Frieza, she resumed her alchemy training and focused most of her efforts on mastering her Zanpakuto.
As a result of her desire to bridge the gap between her and the more powerful members of the Z-Fighters, Sarina's Shikai manifested in the form of a large flintlock pistol. This had disappointed her in the beginning, but, after learning of its ability to ignore conventional durability, her fondness for the weapon increased by several orders of magnitude.
The one thing Sarina had always excelled at was agility. As a descendant of Hermes, her speed and perception developed at a pace most people couldn't even fathom. Had she been born in the West Side, she could have easily secured a position as a famous 'Speedster'.
The biggest downside to Sarina's Zanpakuto was that it could only fire a single shot before having to be manually reloaded. This feature had carried over to her Bankai as well, so, while she was able to one-shott unsuspecting opponents, Sarina always had to take into consideration proper timing and positioning.
With most of her potential opponents possessing power levels in the tens or hundreds of millions, Sarina was pretty confident in her ability to emerge victoriously in a direct confrontation. The only reason she remained hidden was because raw power meant very little when Gifts were concerned. Just as her Zanpakuto was able to ignore conventional durability, there were all kinds of cheat-like abilities that could completely invalidate the difference in power level and skill. This was one of the reasons she had developed a reliance on armaments and ranged abilities, as, more often than not, it simply wasn't worth it to try and fight fairly.
Not everyone could recreate themselves from nothingness...
Giving credence to Sarina's decision to pursue the path of a stealthy markswoman, the leader of the Akuma Community's raid party, a young girl veiled in a hooded, owl-like cloak possessed a number of ludicrous abilities. Not only was she able to summon an ostensibly infinite number of owls, but, every now and then, the dragons fighting against her would spontaneously just drop out of the sky.
Based on the analysis of her goggles, Sarina was able to determine that the barefoot girl's skill was related to the Law of Death. The problem was that she had absolutely no idea what the trigger was. To make matters exponentially worse, the hooded girl was simply observing the battle while sitting on the sideline and nursing a cup of tea. Whenever anyone struck her, she would simply vanish into a mist of black smoke before reappearing a few hundred meters away as if nothing had happened.
To add insult to injury, the hooded girl's power level was only around 17,000. Even the weakest of the Dragons present possessed a power level eclipsing ten million. In that regard, the owl-themed magus was around six hundred times less powerful than even her weakest opponent. It just didn't matter.
The only person that was even able to get a rise out of the petite magus was a handsome man from the Kotoamatsukami Community. Even then, the two had simply exchanged glances before the man promptly ordered his people to withdraw. The reason why this was significant, at least in the eyes of Sarina, was because the man possessed a power level exceeding eight billion. In terms of raw power level, he was even stronger than her, yet, the moment he peered into the hooded woman's glowing yellow eyes, he didn't even hesitate to retreat...
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Motivated by her desire to install Caulifla atop the planet's throne, Kale's highly penetrative ki blast slowly bored a hole through the planet. She didn't even consider that her attack might destroy the core and the contained throne room, as, prior to the start of the Gift Game, Vahn had explained to them that containing structure was borderline indestructible. As for why she didn't just search for a teleportation nexus?
Even in her base state, Kale wasn't particularly known for her mental acuity. When transformed, the only people she listened to were Vahn and Caulifla, as, unlike Broly, Kale had yet to commit the time and effort required to master her Super Saiyan Sage Transformation. As a result, she was essentially a mindless beast whilst transformed. A being propelled forth by pure, animalistic desire.
Under normal circumstances, the primal aura exuded by Kale would be more than enough to cow even the most violent of beasts. To the Yokai of Onigashima, however, she was like a beacon in the darkest of nights. They were drawn to bloodshed and slaughter, so, while others might have been deterred by the sight of an increasingly muscular woman boring a hole in a planet, the members of Onigashima released blood-curdling cries of excitement as they advanced towards Kale and Caulifla on clouds of flesh and blood. Leading the literal tide of Yokai was none other than Shuten, who, for the first time since the great war, had a genuine smile on his face...
"Let the game begin..."
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I almost feel bad for him...','After spending so much time with Vahn, Sarina knows better than to underestimate anyone...','Unfettered Savagery vs. Absolute Violence...')
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章節 2208: Force of Will
Like an animal sensing the onset of a natural disaster, Kale ceased her assault on the planet below as she shifted her attention to the approaching tide of Yokai. Her eye, which had previously gone out of focus, promptly became crystal clear and razor-sharp as she released Caulifla from her hold and said, "It's dangerous..." in an increasingly husky tone.
Due to her close proximity to Kale's chaotic energy, Caulifla didn't immediately notice the army of demonic creatures approaching them. She had been fully focused on preserving her Ki and resting her mind, so, hearing Kale's words, she raised her face from the latter's breasts and remarked, "It's about time. I was starting to get bored."
Ignoring the fact Kale had said it was dangerous, Caulifla began rolling her right arm and shoulder as she marveled at the sight of hundreds of inhuman monstrosities. In the process, her gaze briefly met Shuten's, and, as a result, a distinct, tingling sensation ran up her spine as the reddish-pink fur across her body stood on end.
"Hot damn. If that one isn't the leader, I'll eat my left shoe."
Following her words, Caulifla formed her right hand into a claw as she began to gather energy from the surrounding environment. Before she could release it, however, Kale grasped her shoulder with her oversized hand, saying, "No. My turn..."
Turning her head, Caulifla gave the two-and-a-half-meter tall Saiyaness a disbelieving look as she resisted the urge to tell her to piss off. The only time Kale stepped in to prevent her from fighting was when the opponent was legitimately dangerous. This normally wasn't enough to deter Caulifla from fighting, but, seeing the uncharacteristically serious expression on her companion's face, she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Give 'em hell."
Nodding her head, Kale released Caulifla's shoulder before floating toward the approaching army of Yokai at a slow and intimidating pace. Her height ended up leveling out around 275cm, but, as if there were no limits to the amount of energy she could tap into, the ruby-red fur covering her body began to exude a radiant glow as sections of the ground began to break away. The density of her Ki was so great that the effective mass of her body began to compete with the entire planet.
Sensing the energy exuding from Kale's body, the smile on Shuten's face turned into a toothy grin that threatened to tear at his face. A very similar expression could be seen on the gourd strapped to his waist, a massive container nearly two meters in length and more than a meter in diameter at its widest point.
Grabbing said gourd, Shuten tucked it under his left arm before directing the mouth towards Kale. At the same time, the muscles of his right arm began to bulge as the color of his arm transitioned from a pale, ghastly white to a carmine red. Accompanying this, the nails on his right hand grew in length until they could compete with shortswords in both form and function.
Sweeping his clawed hand in an arcing motion, the clouds of blood and gore that had gathered in the wake of Shuten's march surged forward like a tsunami. The Yokai comprising his Night Parade immediately became frenzied, their forms bulging and twisting as the same carmine coloration in Shuten's arm spread through their ranks.
Undaunted by the sight of a veritable wall of flesh and blood surging toward her, the muscles of Kale's body swelled to an almost ludicrous extent as she charged forward and released a mighty, heaven-shaking roar. Then, just as the various cameras captured the image of her leaning forward, the light exuding from her fur appeared to explode outward as her form disappeared from view. In its place, a ruby-red streak could be seen piercing through the ranks of the Yokai army as a massive ripple could be seen surging across the invisible barrier surrounding the planet.
Treating said barrier as a trampoline, Kale rebounded towards the Night Parade with even greater force than her initial charge, a maneuver that had effectively 'erased' more than a dozen frenzied Yokai from existence. An effeminate man wearing a red kimono and a wedding veil attempted to intercept her, but, the moment his personal gourd surged forward to try and bite Kale's shoulder, the latter smashed it away with a backhand before rewarding the surprised Oni with a meteoric lariat.
With more than enough force to level a planet from her Universe, Kale smashed her would-be attacker into the ground. Had the cameras been zoomed out, the spectators would have been able to witness the planet shifting several hundred meters as an explosive shockwave reminiscent of an extinction-level event rippled across the surface of the planet.
Covering her face and body with her arms, Caulifla was barely able to prevent herself from being swept away as much of the atmosphere was burned away by Kale's attack. Fortunately, part of her training had focused on converting Ki into the vital energy necessary to sustain biological functions, so, even if she was punched into space, Caulifla could survive for months on end without having to worry about food or water. Radiation was still an issue, but, so long as she made use of her [REquip] System and avoided flying around completely naked, it wasn't something she had to worry about.
In an effort to clear away some of the dust that now filled the atmosphere, Caulifla released a series of pulses from her body. At the same time, a fiery pink aura covered her from head to toe as each and every one of her cells generated their own microscopic layer of Ki.
Observing the planet below, Caulifla was unsurprised to find that all the land for hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers had simply been annihilated. Kale's attack had forced a large section of the planet's crust into the mantle. As a result, much of the planet's surface had been turned into a fiery, hellscape. From an outsider's point of view, it was like someone had torn away a large chunk of the planet.
"That woman seriously needs to learn how to hold back..."
Though quite a number of people told her she needed to do the same, Caulifla rarely took such advice to heart, as, compared to Kale, she may as well have perfect control. The latter had nearly destroyed the very fabric of reality when she learned that Vahn had 'stolen' her virginity. Thus, so long as Kale was around, Caulifla could rest easy knowing she would never be the worst when it came to controlling both her anger and Ki...
Just as Caulifla was prepared to pull out her own locket, a convenient tool she could use to track Kale, a dome more than three hundred kilometers in diameter formed in the exposed mantle below. It was quite the terrifying sight to behold, but, compared to the cataclysmic scene that followed, it was soon forgotten by the countless observing the scene from outside the Game Board...
Resentful of the fact that Kale had eliminated his closest friend and companion before they even had the opportunity to play around, Shuten immediately transformed his body into a massive red Oni more than sixteen meters in height. The oversized gourd that had previously been strapped to his waist now appeared relatively small as he grasped it in his hand and aimed the mouth towards the surprisingly one-armed Kale, shouting, "Your suffering will be legendary...!"
As a large plume of reddish-pink steam emerged from the stump of her rapidly regenerating left arm, Kale unleashed a pillar of peculiar green energy that appeared to fill the heavens. In response, Shuten simply thumbed open his gourd. This was the cause of the mantle's magma surging upward, as, the moment the cork was removed, a suction force comparable to a miniature black hole began sucking up everything with impunity. At the same time, the toothy maw on the bottom of Shuten's gourd opened up, a seemingly endless tide of wine-smelling blood surging into the atmosphere as it attempted to form a fleshy membrane around the entire planet.
Sensing that something was amiss, Caulifla used Instant Transmission to appear next to the fiercely smiling Shuten. The red-skinned Oni was briefly caught off guard by her sudden appearance, but, the moment her fist barreled towards his left cheek, the fiery red locks flowing away from his scalp like a mane immediately surged toward her as if they had a mind of their own.
Thanks to her rudimentary mastery over Ultra Instinct/Autonomous Sovereign, Caulifla was able to evade the entangling locks long before they could surround her. What she wasn't prepared for was Shuten turning away from her, almost as if he was about to run away. Instead, he continued nearly 270 degrees, his right hand sweeping toward her in a backhand motion as the toothy maw near the base of his gourd stretched more than eight meters in diameter.
Though the interior of the maw was pitch black, an indescribably repugnant aroma of blood and wine assaulted Caulifla's senses as she attempted to escape using Instant Transmission. Her efforts were ultimately successful, but, the moment she reappeared, the world in Caulifla's vision began to spin as an overwhelming feeling of drunkenness assaulted her mind. Even the accessories prepared by Vahn didn't help, as, much like the poison of the Nidhogg, the Blood Wine of Shuten possessed qualities that simply couldn't be negated using conventional methods.
Unable to maintain her focus, the aura protecting Caulifla's body faded away as she began falling towards the turbulent pool of magma below. Unfortunately, Shuten had no intention of letting her be eliminated from the competition. His gourd possessed an ability that allowed him to imprison his enemies in a sub-dimensional space that would crush them under immense pressure without killing them. More terrifyingly, those sealed within would be prohibited from surrendering as the gourd was one of the many sources of Shuten's power. As a result, anyone unlucky enough to be captured would be forced to remain inside for the duration of the Gift Game, their bodies crushed and squeezed under immense, irresistible pressure...
Smiling viciously, Shuten attempted to scoop up the defenseless Caulifla before she or Kale could recover from the effects of his Blood Wine. The maw on the bottom of his gourd stretched more than fifteen meters in diameter, but, just as it was enveloped the half-conscious Saiyaness, goose pimples spread across Shuten's body as the pupils of his eyes shrank to the size of pinholes.
Before the fiery-haired Oni could make heads or tails of what was happening, an overwhelming pressure assaulted him from every angle. From the perspective of the Casters and spectators, he appeared to suspend in place before the entirety of his sixteen-meter frame was spontaneously compressed to the size of a softball. Then, with one final contraction, the most vile and wicked of Japan's Three Great Monsters was eliminated from the competition. As for Caulifla, she ended up being rescued by Kale long before her body got anywhere near the magma bubbling up from the mantle...
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Opening his eyes, a faint blue glow could be seen in the depths of Vahn's pupils before promptly fading away. The aura exuding from Shuten's body gave him a bad feeling, so, the moment he saw Caulifla collapse, he gave in and asked Loi-chan what the effects of the gourd were.
Upon hearing Loi-chan's explanation, an unbelievably frigid sensation spread through Vahn's mind as his intent closed around the errant demon like a vice. This was immediately sensed by Fenrir and Mikoto, but, instead of saying anything, the duo simply nestled closer to him as he crushed the red-headed Oni using raw, unparalleled willpower. This caused several cameras to focus on him, but, as even the Central Network couldn't trace his intent, no one knew for certain if he was the one to kill Shuten...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Kale don't play...','Suck-boi Shuten-doji...','O_O...')
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