Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though he continued to monitor the events taking place outside through the Law of Identity, Vahn had already put the matters of the Name Hunt Station behind him. He didn’t care how many people he had upset, and, were it not for the presence of Yuri, he might have even gone out to teach those conspiring against him a lesson. Instead, he had Poe forward a message for him when Evan secretly made contact, promising to meet with her after his arrival at the Last Station.

Needless to say, Yuri wasn’t enthused by the five-month rain check, so, prior to her departure from the Name Hunt Station, she made sure to pester the Lo Po Bia Family as much as possible. This left the representative of the Snow Leopard Family feeling greatly exasperated, not because of Yuri, but because he would undoubtedly be held accountable for losing control over the Name Hunt Station and allowing the perpetrators to escape. He wanted nothing more than to send a group of Regulars into the Hell Express to smoke everyone out, but, with less than a day to act, combined with the fact it was ’very’ difficult to find a Regular capable of defeating Kaiser, this was simply impossible.

In the end, the representative of the Snow Leopard Family could do little more than report what had happened to his superiors, embellishing facts as much as possible in order to shift the blame onto others. Specifically, he wanted the Grey Wolf Family to be held accountable for the actions of their progeny, but, with most of their living being unaware of Elaine’s existence, this was difficult to achieve. This left him with no choice but to lay the blame on the other Families, specifically pointing fingers at the various representatives who had stood in opposition to them for the past thousand or so years.

Though the Elders of the Lo Po Bia Family weren’t foolish enough to openly antagonize the other Ten Families, that didn’t prevent them from trying to leverage the incident to curry favor with the Jahad Empire. They unhesitantly added to the rumors circulating around Vahn, outright accusing him of rebelling against the Empire and conspiring with FUG to dethrone the King. This compelled the Royal Enforcement Division to take action, as, no matter how unsubstantiated the claim, even a rumor regarding rebellion was unacceptable in the eyes of Jahad’s most zealous forces.

With the reputation of the Royal Enforcement Division, it was no surprise to anyone that they were ready and willing to take action to protect the reputation and honor of the Jahad Empire. Infinitely more surprising was the fact that, shortly after the accusation was filed, the 1st, 4th, and 5th Army Corps began to mobilize.

Since the 5th Army Corps was almost entirely comprised of members of the Lo Po Bia Family, their mobilization was well within the expectations of the various forces monitoring the incident. What none of them expected was that the 1st Corps, headed by none other than Adori Jahad, had been mobilized.

As could be expected, the 1st Corps included many of the Jahad Empire’s most powerful forces and assets. Adori, in particular, was the current Rank 7 among all the Tower’s Rankers, so, while it wasn’t too surprising that she would mobilize to pressure someone like Ureko, nobody expected her to be tasked with squashing a ’rumor’. This led many to suspect there was some greater meaning behind her mobilization, and, though he had already garnered the attention of virtually every faction in the Tower, the eyes of every pertinent party had momentarily shifted to Vahn and the Hell Express...

Largely unaware of the magnitude of the events he had set into motion, Vahn spent the first ten days aboard the Hell Express earning the right to advance to the next Floor before spending the better part of two weeks attempting to access the Hidden Floor. His instincts were telling him that he might not have as much time as he would like, so, while he always had the option of ’stealing’ the entire train, that was a measure he wanted to save until he had no other choice. After all, the Hell Express took him directly to several important locations, and, while they were possible to find using ’conventional’ methods, it was the simplest and most expedient way of achieving his current series of objectives.

Unfortunately, without outright destroying the door, Vahn had yet to find a way to gain access to the Hidden Floor. The Workshop had put in a considerable amount of effort to effectively make it impenetrable, so, even if they possessed the power of a High Ranker, breaching the door was nigh-impossible. Even if they could, doing so risked compromising the integrity of the Hidden Floor, so, without one of the three Master Keys that had been created, it was beginning to seem like his only option was to wait until he had cleared the Floor of Death...

Realizing he was still lacking in a number of ways, Vahn couldn’t help exhaling an exasperated sigh as he removed his hand from the deceptively simple-looking metal door barring his passage. This earned him a pointed look from the blonde bombshell standing at his side, followed by a roll of the eyes as she said, "There is no sense in moping around. Aren’t you always telling those brats about how sad and lonely it is to stand at the top? To that end, not being able to accomplish something is a blessing. It means you still have room for growth."

Chuckling in response to the woman’s words, Vahn shifted his attention to the beauty, smiling as he said, "You’re right. As expected of my former Master..."

Before she could go on about showing her proper respect, Vahn coiled his arms around Eva’s waist, forcing her to stand on the tips of her toes as he stole a kiss. This caused her to fluster slightly, not because she was embarrassed by the act, but because there were quite a number of other people present to witness it. Despite this, she made no effort to try and break free. Instead, she returned his embrace with her own, enjoying the moment for several seconds before biting his tongue hard enough to draw a line of blood.

Rather than retract the offending appendage, Vahn continued to kiss Eva for an additional minute before finally releasing her from his grasp. This caused her face to turn beet red, but, at the same time, there was a visible ’fire’ in her eyes after ingesting his blood. If not for the peanut gallery in attendance, she might have pushed him down then and there. Instead, she balled her hand into a fist, spontaneously condensing a monumental amount of Shinsu into a vibrant blue sphere as she smashed it into his chest with the force of a freight train.

Though he had allowed her to bite his tongue, the idea of having most of the bones in his body shattered wasn’t very appealing. As a result, Vahn couldn’t help but release his domain, a slightly apologetic smile developing across his face as he allowed her fist to impact his chest without any discernible effect. This caused Eva to click her tongue, but, rather than continue the assault, she just sent him a look that conveyed ’prepare yourself’ before shifting her attention to Anna, Weiss, and Yura, asking, "What are you brats gawking at...?"

Being relatively sensible, Anna and Yura elected to remain silent in response to Eva’s inquiry. Weiss, however, possessed the fearlessness of a lamb wandering into the domain of a lion. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, she happily chimed, "We were watching the two of you make out! That was pretty intense~!" while performing a thumbs-up gesture.

Having gotten a little closer to Weiss over the course of several weeks, Eva wasn’t too surprised by her response. That didn’t prevent her expression from darkening, however, an eerie laugh emitting from her throat as she asked, "Is that so...?"

Though she didn’t understand why Eva was ’angry’, Weiss instincts compelled her to manifest her sword and adopt a defensive posture as she flew backward at a remarkable speed. To her surprise, this reaction was met with an amused chuckle from Eva, who, rather than attack, mused, "That is a good reaction. If only you had the same discernment when it came to reading a situation..."

Confused by Eva’s words, Weiss was about to ask for clarification when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. At the same time, her pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as she witnessed the smiling figure of Eva fade away, a phenomenon that occurred simultaneously with a light poke to the back of her head.

Taking advantage of the white-haired beauty’s momentary stupor, Eva went on to teasingly remark, "For someone whose swordsmanship revolves around the manipulation of Space, your perception is a little lacking. If you truly believed I was going to attack you, the correct response would have been to charge forward. After all, beyond a certain range, I have an absolute advantage..."

Adopting a slight pout, Weiss moved away from Eva’s caress before asking, "How did you disappear like that? I couldn’t sense you at all."

Answering in lieu of the chuckling Eva, Vahn earned himself another pointed look from the former as he explained, "She didn’t erase her presence. You were just too focused on the bloodlust coming from your front that you didn’t notice her spatial transference. Though her words aren’t wrong, the truth of the matter is that you are too reliant on your ability to perceive threats. Against someone skilled in assassination techniques, you are at a massive disadvantage since the best assassins can erase both their presence and killing intent."

Understanding Vahn’s explanation a little better, Weiss adopted an even more expressive pout as she shifted her attention toward Eva and accused, "You cheated...!"

Finished with her telepathic threats to Vahn, Eva turned to meet Weiss’ gaze as she said, "Unless they have been stipulated beforehand, there are no rules of engagement. Even then, you should always harbor the expectation that your opponent will do everything in their power to cheat. Don’t blame me for your lack of experience. Take this as a lesson and use it to improve."

Though she was still relatively naive, Weiss had learned enough about Eva to understand that she was being petty. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much she could do about it, as, despite possessing far greater reserves, her inability to manipulate external Shinsu meant she became noticeably weaker as a fight progressed. Inversely, Eva had an unparalleled mastery over the manipulation of Shinsu in the environment, so, while her internal reserves weren’t anything impressive, she got progressively stronger as the fight dragged on.

Emulating Eva’s habit of clicking her tongue, Weiss allowed her body to lazily list through the air, arms crossed as she began willfully ignoring the former. This caused Eva’s brow to twitch, forcing her to take a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. Then, demonstrating just how petty she could be, she answered Weiss’s action in kind, ignoring the ghostly maiden until Vahn stepped in to mediate between the two...

Due to the presence of numerous fungal colonies dominating the entire Floor, both Regulars and Rankers tended to avoid the 40th Floor. This allowed it to become a safe haven for those seeking refuge, and, thanks to the presence of an individual known as David Hockney, possessing eyes that allowed him to see into the future, those residing on the Floor were able to avoid most dangers.

Unfortunately, even with his ability to see the future, there was nothing Hackney could do to help his fellow Regulars prepare for the arrival of an entire Division of the Jahad Army. To make matters even worse, there seemed to be several people within the military who knew about his ability, so, no matter what action he took to prevent it, all futures showed him being captured. Thus, in order to avoid death and buy time for his compatriots, he ended up handing himself over without a fight. Minutes later, he found himself being forced to kneel in front of an indescribably beautiful woman with golden hair and matching eyes, her only flaw being the ice-cold expression on her face as she began asking him various questions about the future...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Politicians are cancer...’,’Tier 5 Tsundere...’,’Well, this is escalating quickly...’)