Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2227: Overreliance

Though her eyes were still closed, Wu managed to track her downed prey using scent alone. When she found Nav lying motionlessly on the ground, a sneer crossed her face as she spat off to the side and remarked, "You're one of those brats that relies entirely on your Gifts, aren't you? Consider this a learning experience."

"…"

Seeing that Nav had decided to play dead, Wu shifted her attention to Sarina, saying, "Go ahead and try to finish her off. Make sure you don't open your eyes. If you do, even Vahn might not be able to save you."

Furrowing her brows, Sarina resisted the urge to ask what Wu had discovered. Instead, she drew her pistol-like Zanpakuto, saying, "Sayonara…" in a somber tone.

Following a remarkably loud cracking sound, a condensed energy projectile escaped the end of Sarina's Zanpakuto before piercing through Nav's body in an instant. Said projectile managed to bore nearly three-hundred meters into the surface of the planet, but, as could be expected, it had no effect on Nav's body.

While Sarina might not be able to sense the subtle changes in Nav's condition, Wu was able to hear the sound of feathers rustling several kilometers away. One of the owls comprising Nav's seemingly endless entourage was punctured from chest to back. The surrounding owls attempted to cover up the noise by ruffling their feathers, but that actually made it easier for Wu to pinpoint their position and ascertain another one of Nav's abilities.

Realizing there was a very real possibility that Nav wasn't injured, Wu promptly smashed toward her with her Ruyi Jingu Bang. This time, however, Nav immediately evaded by turning into ghostly mist and darting back several hundred meters in an instant. What Wu didn't know was that her damage transfer ability was far from perfect. Precision attacks such as Sarina's would only result in the death of a single owl. When Wu sent her flying, dozens of owls ended up losing their life as a result of her carelessness.

"Oh? Do you honestly think you can flee from me, the Great Sun Wu Kong? You're really in the need of a harsh lesson, aren't you?"

"…"

Rather than signifying Wu's words with a verbal response of her own, Nav began to flap the hem of her cloak like someone trying to cool their legs on a hot summer day. Her actions resulted in a large quantity of mist cascading down her legs and spreading through the surrounding forest.

Hearing the sounds from the environment becoming muffled as the mist increased, Wu pounced towards Nav with the intention of putting a stop to her actions. Nav reacted by dispersing into a cloud of mist, but, having already seen through the technique, Wu pointed her Ruyi Jingu Bang in the path of Nav's retreat, shouting, "Monkey Pierces the Viel of Heaven…!"

As if it had a repulsing effect on the mist, the Ruyi Jingu Bang created a cylindrical tunnel through the ghostly substance as it extended more than a kilometer in an instant. Before making contact with Nav, however, it promptly expanded to fill this void. As a result, the aforementioned Queen of Owls could only stare in stupefaction as the skyscraper-sized staff smashed into her entire body.

Carried by a force comparable to a large meteor striking a planet, Nav was sent flying far beyond the bounds of her forest and into a mountain peak. Instead of stopping, however, she ended up smashing through said peak and continuing onward until she had nearly exited the atmosphere. There, she ended up floating aimlessly for a moment, all thoughts erased from her mind until she began a slow and gradual descent towards the planet.

Assured that she had seen through Nav's abilities, Wu turned towards Sarina and said, "Destroy the forest. Without her little pets, the Queen of Owls may as well be powerless. I'll keep her and anyone stupid enough to get in our way distracted."

Without waiting for Sarina's response, Wu bounded into the air before manifesting a fluffy golden cloud beneath her feet. She no longer felt threatened by anything Nav could throw at her, so, while the Sommersault Cloud was actually one of her slowest methods of travel, it was Wu's go-to means of transport whenever she was feeling lazy.

Sensing Wu's departure with her Ki Sense, a frown marred Sarina's expression as she opened her eyes and followed the monkey girl's ascent. She didn't like how Wu kept telling her what to do, but, understanding the futility of trying to reason with one of the most legendary troublemakers in the entire Divine Realm, she ultimately just shook her head before grumbling, "I hope someone appears to teach you a lesson one of these days…"

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Opening his eyes, Vahn directed his gaze towards the ceiling of the control room as he remarked, "Hmmm…? I didn't expect anyone to come looking for trouble after I defeated Amaterasu…"

Shifting his intent to the surface of the planet, Vahn was marginally surprised to find a single, white-haired woman casting an expressionless gaze over her surroundings.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, the white-haired woman shifted her attention to the relative location of Vahn's intent. Her blue eyes immediately lit up, but, even after several seconds had passed, she was unable to pinpoint his exact location.

"It isn't polite to spy on other people. If you're going to go out of your way to observe me, you may as well come out and introduce yourself…"

Though he had been having fun shifting his intent around to evade the woman's attempts to locate him, Vahn didn't hesitate to step out of the void and state, "You willfully came here in search of me. I would like to think my reputation precedes me…"

Instead of responding to Vahn's braggadocious remark, the white-haired woman continued staring at him with an impeccable deadpan. She seemed to be sizing him up, the antennae-like ahoge atop her head bobbing and twitching as nearly indistinguishable points of light appeared in the depths of her pupils.

("She appears to have some kind of system…not that I'm surprised…")

(*Well, she is the Leader of a Community comprised almost entirely of Isekai Protagonists…*)

Taking advantage of the fact that Vahn was just staring at her, the white-haired woman, Shion, Leader of the Akuma Community, kept trying to analyze him using her [God's Eye of Perception]. She had MAXed it out tens of thousands of years ago so it was supposed to be able to give her information on virtually anything. When she analyzed Vahn, however, the only information she was able to ascertain was his name, some miscellaneous information about his time in the Tower, and the various Fragments of Origin in his possession.

"You're a Transmigrator…someone who received a cheat and used it to traverse various worlds. Tell me…what do you seek at the end of your journey…?"

Assuming Vahn had a skill that allowed him to obscure his information, Shion decided to voice the first thoughts that came to her mind. In response, Vahn's expression actually softened, a sad smile developing across his face as he honestly answered, "I seek to one day be reunited with my family. Until then, I will continue doing what I can to make the worlds I inhabit a better place for everyone that dwells within."

Perusing the information related to Vahn's time in the Tower, Shion couldn't deny that he had done a decent job in correcting countless injustices. The thing that reduced her opinion of him was the fact that she could see a list of all the women he had 'collected' along the way. She had always hated how the vast majority of male Transmigrators treated the women they met along the way as prizes to be won…

Exhaling a sigh through her nose, Shion placed her hands into the pockets of her white hoodie as she said, "If you're serious about your desire to be reunited with your family, we should team up. I can promise you that once I become the Ruler of the Little Garden, I will return you to them."

In an effort to demonstrate her sincerity, Shion manifested a peculiar, ruby-red Geass Roll with the intention of sealing their agreement. This particular scroll, known as the Pledge of Eternity, was one of the most powerful binding contracts in the entire Divine Realm. If infringed upon, the offending party would become the other's slave for all eternity. Even if they were reincarnated a trillion times over, they would never be able to break free from the binds of the contract.

Raising his brows, Vahn briefly scanned the contents of the scroll before ultimately shaking his head and saying, "I'm afraid I can't agree to your conditions. Though I have no doubt you believe yourself capable of reaching the top, you are severely overestimating yourself. Those subordinate to systems established within the Order of Creation would never be able to surpass it. When you're able to cast aside your system and oppose the person that created it, I'll reconsider your words."

Though his own system was probably the most heinous cheat across all realities, Vahn actually went out of his way not to rely on The Path's various functions. He did make an earnest effort to try and comprehend Source Energy, but the vast majority of his efforts were focused on mastering himself and ascertaining the true nature of reality.

Exhaling a second sigh, Shion waved away the Pledge of Eternity before saying, "Your words make you appear to be wiser than most…however, the person overestimating themselves isn't me…I know, better than anyone, how weak I am…"

Placing a hand over her heart, Shion's eyes appeared to glaze over for a brief moment as memories from the past surfaced within her mind. Vahn had no doubt she was having some kind of flashback, but, as this wasn't an anime, he could only imagine what she was thinking about. If the depressive aura exuding from her body was any indicator, it wasn't something pleasant.

Coming back to her senses, a glimmer of resolution flashed across Shion's breathtakingly blue eyes as she said, "This world is broken. Even if it takes me tens of billions of years, I will never stop trying to fix it. If you won't join me, you're an obstacle standing in my way…"

Removing her left hand from her hoodie, Shion raised it in the direction of Vahn. Her already pale skin became a translucent shade of silvery-white before exploding outward like a dam that had just ruptured. In the very next moment, a veritable horde of magical creatures, monsters, demons, and even a few humans charged outward like a routing army.

Leading the charge was a handsome-looking youth with wild, windswept hair and a suit of armor that practically screamed, 'I am the Hero'. The sword in his hand was a brilliantly silver blade with a golden crossguard, so, as could be expected, he was able to unleash a massive discharge of Holy Elemental Energy capable of leveling a mountain.

Catching said blade in the palm of his hand, Vahn's expression became marginally more serious as a faint trickle of blood appeared beneath the wound. It healed almost instantaneously but it said a lot that the heroic-looking youth was able to injure him at all.

Meeting said youth's gaze, Vahn noticed there was no 'awareness' in the young man's crystal clear, pale-blue eyes. They glowed like jewels under intense light, but, much like a zombie or some kind of machine, there was absolutely no 'will' contained within the youth's eyes. He was just acting on pure instinct.

As various thoughts crossed his mind, Vahn was forced to take a step back when a scantily clad woman with vibrant pink hair and an outfit resembling an eastern dancer attempted to sever his neck with a pair of oversized chakrams. Immediately thereafter, a burly man that resembled a mix between a human and a lion attempted to tackle him, the spear-like protrusions on his shoulders making his intentions very clear…

Though he could easily dodge all the attacks coming his way, Vahn reacted to the lion-like man's charge by sending a laser-like spear of pure magical energy through his forehead. When the wound immediately closed up, a grim expression marred Vahn's countenance as he muttered, "I don't think I'm going to like where this is going…"

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Wu: "I don't like to bully the weak."','Also Wu: *proceeds to beat the sh*t out of Nav*','Getting some bad vibes…')

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