Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2004: Lurking

Having been keeping tabs on Pram ever since her departure, Vahn was well aware of the duel scheduled to take place between her and Yasratcha. He was also aware of what her family had been going through the last couple of weeks, but, considering how they had treated others over the last several thousand years, he wasn't in a hurry to bail them out. Instead, he used their predicament to observe how the other branches would react despite knowing his visit was inevitable.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the branch families had taken advantage of the Snow Leopard Family's fall from grace. This was relatively normal within the Lo Po Bia Family, but, due to the Snow Leopard Family's mismanagement of the Name Hunt Station, they had accumulated a considerable amount of resentment amongst the branches they had previously looked down upon.

Simply put, Pram and the Snow Leopard Family were effectively reaping what they had sewn during the time they were in power. They had suppressed several weaker branches using their status, and, as could be seen in their treatment of the Grey Wolf Family, they weren't against annihilating other branches for personal gain. This was the consequence their past actions demanded, so, rather than immediately intervening in the fight, Vahn and his rather sizeable entourage were silently observing the proceedings from within a bubble completely isolated from the Primary Axis of Reality.

Unaware of this, Pram began to tremble from embarrassment and fury as Yasratcha, now sporting a visage reminiscent of a hyena, continued to laugh at her expense. To make matters even worse, the crowd had started to join in, many laughing alongside Yasratcha while others began to jeer and cat-call the once-dominant Elder of the Snow Leopard.

Unable to contain her anger, Pram's inordinately fluffy hair seemed to billow even more than usual as she raised her face to reveal moistened yet furious eyes. This caused an eerie silence to descend upon the crowd within her field of view, and, though he was sublimely confident in his power, even Yasratcha tensed up under the scorned beauty's gaze. After all, despite the rather drastic difference in their power, status, and authority, Pram's bloodline was actually of a higher quality than his own...

With feelings of resentment and inferiority swelling from the deepest recesses of his subconscious mind, Yasratcha's muscles began to noticeably bulge as he leaned forward, claws and fangs bared as he exclaimed, "You dare look at me with such eyes!? What, you think you're better than me...!?"

Without waiting for Pram's response, Yasratcha lunged forward with extreme momentum, the arena shuddering as he shouted, "You're nothing...!"

Punctuating his words, Yasratcha swept forward with his right hand, massive blades erupting from his dagger-like nails. At the same time, the momentum of his charge caused a massive eruption of dust and debris to spread through the arena, heavily impacting the barrier that had been erected to protect the spectators.

Despite several blades of energy tearing towards her, Pram surprised everyone by jumping forward to meet Yasratcha's assault. His attack had been meant to maim, not kill, so, having already formed her resolve, she dismissed any thoughts of protecting her body and instead focused exclusively on offense. This caused the hairs across Yasratcha's body to stand on end, as, despite being one of the most dominant figures within the Lo Po Bia Family, he was actually terrified of pain.

Deciding he would rather not fight the crazed woman up close, Yasratcha immediately ditched his assault and instead leaped into the air while releasing several more blades of cobalt-blue Shinsu. If Pram wasn't going to try and defend herself, there was no reason to pressure her directly. He also specialized in long-range attacks, so, immediately following his retreat, he condensed the Shinu in the surroundings to form a physical wall resembling an ashen-grey cat's tail covered in razor-sharp spines...

Gritting her teeth, Pram powered through Yasratcha's blades of energy without flinching. Her body had become remarkably durable over the course of her inordinately long life, and, thanks to the frosty white aura covering her body, most of the blades couldn't even penetrate her clothes, much less her flesh. Were it not for the shockwaves spreading through her body and violently shaking her organs, she might have been able to blitz Yasratcha before he realized what was happening.

Seeing Pram approaching him like an icy missile, Yasratcha's pupils contracted into thin lines as he dodged to the side and shouted, "You've finally shown your true colors! Tell me, how many times did you need to open your legs before that dragon bastard rewarded you with such a technique!?"

Ignoring Yasratcha's words, Pram kicked off the air as if it was solid ground, swiftly changing her direction before instantaneously accelerating to relativistic speeds. This was a little dangerous in a closed arena, but, having already forgone defense, she didn't care if she crashed into the barrier or pierced through the ceiling. So long as she could land a solid hit on Yasratcha's face, she would be more than content with any outcome.

Trusting in his instincts, Yasratcha didn't even attempt to counter or block Pram's attack. Instead, he allowed the three-hundred-meter long 'tail' to thrash about at complete random as he backed into a spatial ripple that allowed him to instantaneously teleport away. This ended up being the correct decision, as, immediately thereafter, Pram ended up bursting through the tail like a bullet piercing a sheet of paper before smashing, hard, into the barrier protecting the ceiling...

Excited by the uncharacteristic manner in which Pram was battling, Yuri couldn't help pumping her fists in excitement as she shouted, "Yeah! You go girl! Punt that furry fucker in the balls...!"

With Yuri shouting immediately next to his ear, Vahn was about to remind her that nobody outside could hear her when he noticed even Fenrir standing with her paws clenched into fists, fully focused on the fight. This came as a moderate surprise, as, even when Pram was effectively living with them, Fenrir had never demonstrated any fondness for the opportunistic woman. Rather, had he not been there to act as an intermediary, he could easily imagine Fenrir maiming, crippling, or outright killing Pram for ever thinking she could use the Empire for her own ends...

Noticing her Master's gaze, Fenrir lowered her paws before casually informing him, "I can sense it. She still has a long way to go but Pram is no longer the bad girl she used to be. She doesn't defend herself because she sincerely believes you will step in to protect her when she needs you most."

Though he was already aware of the reason for Pram's self-destructive behavior, hearing Fenrir say it caused Vahn's heart to briefly tense. Before he could even think about putting a stop to the fight, however, Fenrir went on to add, "She believes you are watching over her, so, even if it costs her life, she is willing to sacrifice everything in order to expose the flaws of her family for correcting..."

Hearing what Fenrir said, Yuri shifted her attention away from the fight for a brief moment, brows raised as she asked, "Are you sure about that? It seems to me she's just lashing out because that cat bastard reminded everyone about the incident where she pissed herself."

Furrowing her brows, Fenrir was about to say something in Pram's defense when Vahn, shaking his head, said, "There's no sense in arguing about the reason. Either way, Pram seems like she is willing to go all the way. For now, let's continue observ-"

Before Vahn could even finish speaking, a Snow Leopard more than fifty meters in height and three times that in length erupted from the bell nestled above Pram's breasts as a feral roar escaped her throat. This was the Guardian Beast that had been gifted to the Snow Leopard Family by the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family himself, so, while it was a little strange to consider it a Divine Fish, it was still one of the most powerful Shinheuh in the Tower...

Seeing the massive Snow Leopard descending towards him, Yasratcha cursed under his breath as he swept both hands forward to literally 'bend' the arena's floor around him. This might seem pointless considering his own charge was able to rend the terrain asunder, but, thanks to his inordinately rare Shinsu Quality, he could manipulate, strengthen, and even disassemble inorganic matter his field of control. The only downside was that conflicting fields of Shinsu directly interfered with his ability to control matter, so, even though he had invested decades of his childhood learning how to strangle people with their clothes, it was utterly useless against Wave Controllers and anyone even remotely close to his level.

Fortunately, most Rankers were accustomed to fighting aerial battles, so, more often than not, they didn't even think to infuse their Shinsu into the surrounding terrain. This made it exceptionally easy to control, and, unless they possessed a specialized or A-Rank Lighthouse, he could easily escape a disadvantageous situation by creating an astonishingly durable dome and burrowing deep into the ground below. This was a domain few could freely trespass, so, even if they could detect him, most people could only bombard the ground with powerful attacks in a futile attempt to bury him.

Unaware of this, as Yasratcha had effectively become inactive thousands of years ago, Pram ordered her Guardian Beast to direct its most powerful attack towards the spiraling mound generated by her opponent. This caused it to issue a high-pitched roar that shook the very foundations of the arena, yet, in spite of this, the peculiar mound seemed completely unfazed. Instead, its exterior darkened to resemble a deep earthy brown that glistened beneath the light emanating from the barrier...

Having never developed a real filter for her words, Yuri gave voice to the thought that had crossed nearly everyone's mind, asking, "Is it just me, or does that dirt barrier look like a pile of shit? I can't be the only one seeing this."

Unable to contain herself, an impish giggle emanated from Blossom's throat before she nodded her head and mused, "It's very fitting, don't you think~?"

Though Vahn was able to maintain a relatively straight expression in response to Yuri's remark, the corners of his mouth began to twitch when nearly everyone nodded their heads in concert. Most of the girls surrounding him had rather 'youthful' appearances, so, seeing them react in the same way was not only adorable but amusing.

Noticing the change in Vahn's expression, a massive grin spread across Yuri's face as she asked, "If it was you, I bet you could literally assail your enemies with endless waves of shit, huh? Or, better ye-"

While he wasn't exactly sure what she was going to suggest, Vahn gestured with his left hand, and, as a result, Yuri's mouth vanished from her face. This surprised even him as his original intent wasn't to erase her mouth from existence but to momentarily seal it. This demonstrated just how much the current battle had affected him, as, despite appearing relaxed on the surface, his mind was still in a state of disarray due to Fenrir's previous remarks.

Instinctually reversing the flow of time for everyone except himself and Mikoto, Vahn's face paled imperceptibly as Yuri, grinning from ear to ear, went on to say, "If it was you, I bet you could literally assail your enemies with endless waves of shit, huh? Or, better yet, you could probably drown them in semen. That should keep most people from even thinking about opposing you. Heck, I bet most people wouldn't even admit to having fought you! Ahahahahahahaha~."

Resisting the urge to rub his temples, Vahn forced a smile before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the fight. He really didn't know what to say in response to Yuri's words, and, due to his little 'accident', he was currently feeling a little sheepish. Fortunately, this feeling only lasted for a few seconds, not because the fight had suddenly become interesting, but because his [Will of the Emperor] had finally decided to kick in...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'If you ain't ready to do the time, don't commit the crime~!','Pram be like, "Abandon humanity, return to gato..."','I mean...it WOULD be pretty effective...')