Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Finding himself floating above a coliseum-like structure, surrounded by the statues of various Greek Gods, Vahn had a slight frown on his face. His parting with Shuten had soured his mood a bit, so, to see several 10m tall statues, each depicting nearly-naked Gods, he couldn't help but release a tired sigh. To make matters even worse, there was a 15m tall statue of Ares, depicted holding the head of a defeated enemy as if it were a trophy...

As many of the Olympian Gods were fated to be his future enemies, Vahn had a slight compulsion to kill anyone that was truly loyal to them. He knew this territory couldn't belong to Caenis, as she held a considerable amount of hatred towards the Gods, so it could only belong to the scarlet-haired young woman, who, at that present moment, was battling against Shirou in the middle of the arena...

Based on appearances, the young woman seemed to be around sixteen-to-eighteen years old. She possessed a lithe, athletic, figure that was easily discernible through her thin clothing, comprised of tanned leather and white cloth. What stood out the most, however, was her scarlet red hair, tied in a bun similar to Artoria's, and the blazing red sash she wore around her hips. It gracefully followed her every movement, and, while it annoyed him slightly, Vahn felt her combat style was a fusion between Tiona's and Tione's...

Despite her rather petite frame, standing at only 159cm in height, the scarlet-haired woman's blows carried enough force to shatter the hard floor of the coliseum, appearing much like small explosions. As for her movements, they combined animalistic intensity with the grace of a prima ballerina, letting her transition between offense to defense seamlessly. It was actually a sight to behold, not because Shirou was in a half-beaten state, but due to the untapped potential that radiated from every fiber of the woman's body...

As he had been proactively training people since the 'death' of Scáthach, Vahn had developed the habit of observing his students' movements and determining how they could improve. As he had an almost flawless understanding of the human body, combined with a unique sensitivity to all forms of energy, he had become adept at giving proper advice. Thus, while watching the woman beat Shirou until he was sent crashing into the far wall, Vahn couldn't help but internally remark, ("Despite being a Heroic Spirit, that woman seems to have a lot of untapped potential...how curious...")

Privy to his musings, Sis 'heard' Vahn's words, leading her to remark, (*Is this the birth of a new bad habit? Are you going to start training your enemies to defeat you now...?*)

Though it wasn't enough to make him fluster, Vahn felt slightly embarrassed hearing Sis' words. He blamed the woman's youthful appearance, making her appear similar in age to Mordred and Mash. In truth, he was thinking about making her a rival for them, not grooming her to be another one of his rather 'earnest' disciples. He knew Sis was aware of this, but, perhaps as a result of him getting cornered by Shuten, she seemed to be in a bad mood.

Knowing what he was thinking, Sis' sigh could be heard in the back of Vahn's mind, followed by her saying, (*I'm not in a bad mood, I'm just worried about you. I don't want to see you doing anything that will lead to future stress. There are very few enemies that can threaten you in this Record, so I'm afraid you will become complacent and start acting as eccentric as your past self...*)

Vahn knew Sis was referring to how he behaved towards the end of his time in Danmachi, back when he felt as if nothing could stop his meteoric rise. This left him feeling exposed and vulnerable when he encountered an enemy that could actually threaten him, causing him to panic and, ultimately, flee from his world. It was one of the greatest shames he had ever experienced, an incident derived from his naivete; his singular, true, regret.

Though his mood had decreased a fair amount, Vahn felt sobered by Sis' reminder, nodding his head in understanding before timing his entrance to match the collision in the arena...

With his mastery of [Shundo] and a deep understanding of Space Laws, Vahn was able to appear in between Shirou and the unnamed woman in an instant. Then, before either of them could react, he extended his hands toward them, repulsing them by spreading his aura outward explosively. To their credit, both Heroes were able to keep their footing, avoiding an embarrassing outcome and earning an approving nod from Vahn.

Having yet to meet Vahn, the scarlet-haired woman didn't hesitate to launch herself toward him, releasing a sonorous battle cry as the sash around her body began releasing a divine light. This was enough to get Vahn's attention, but, without having to intercept her attack, Musashi's figure blurred into existence, deflecting the explosive blow with her sheath as she shouted, "Stand down! This man is the Sage Dragon Emperor! You're not his opponent...!"

Vahn was slightly amused by the fact that Musashi had come to his aid, but, unlike how he normally presented himself, he had a serious expression on his face. Sis' words were still fresh on his mind, so, while he was tempted to mess around a bit, he realized this wasn't exactly the situation to do so. He was supposed to be enemies with these people, and, though there was no hatred between them, it wasn't proper to mess around inside of enemy territory.

Hearing Musashi's words, the scarlet-haired actually seemed more excited, a smile spreading across her face as she exclaimed, "Good! I wanted to see how strong this so-called Emperor was for myself! Stand out of the way, Musashi! Let me test his mettle for myself...!"

Rather than stand aside, Musashi placed her hand on the hilt of her katana, a serious look on her face as she said, "I won't let you endanger our entire group for your own selfishness. If you want to issue a formal challenge, that is one thing. If you're going to suddenly attack when we're supposed to be negotiating, you'll be forcing my hand..."

Though there was a vast difference in their individual skill, the scarlet-haired woman, known as the Queen of Amazons, Hippolyta, was undaunted. She had been looking forward to a rematch since the last time Musashi defeated her, and, while this wasn't exactly the best opportunity, such things didn't matter to a 'true warrior'.

Before Musashi and the unnamed woman could begin their brawl, Vahn interrupted, saying in a calm tone, "Move aside, Musashi. If she wants to fight me, I will accept her challenge."

Since the woman was unarmed, Vahn adopted a loose stance, his hands forming a shape similar to claws as an almost imperceptible aura of a white tiger appeared around him. This caused the smile on the woman's face to fade in an instant, her expression becoming serious as she said, "Move aside. If I don't get a chance to see his skills for myself, I see no reason to follow the guidelines he has set for us..."

With Vahn already accepting Hippolyta's challenge, Musashi could only release a tired sigh before looking toward Shirou and seeing a similarly exasperated expression on his face. As for the rest of their companions, they had mixed reactions upon seeing Vahn's sudden arrival, but, as few people were against watching a good fight, they couldn't help but feel slightly expectant. This included a trio of children, two possessing the characteristic features of 'Betty' while the other, the oldest, had an aura that even made Vahn feel slightly threatened.

Knowing he would learn their actual identities in a relatively short period of time, Vahn lowered his sense of gravity in preparation for the coming battle. He intended to match the woman in speed and power, escalating only when she became frustrated and began using flashier skills. This was a way to test his own skills, and, though he didn't have any intention to actually train her, it also allowed him to test the depths of the young woman's potential...

The moment Musashi and Shirou exited the field, the scarlet-haired beauty pointed towards herself with her thumb, announcing, "I am Hippolyta, daughter of Ares, Queen of the Amazons. Show me the power that has brought this world to ruin. If you are found lacking, do not blame me for striking you down in the name of justice...!"

Hearing Hippolyta's words, Vahn's brows slightly furrowed as he repressed the urge to comment how foolish it was to say such a thing prior to a battle. If he were to use her same logic, it gave him the right to decide her life and death based on whether or not he found her lacking. While he was aware of the 'customs' centered around Hippolyta's culture, he still had a slight urge to reprimand her for such a foolish remark...

Following her righteous spiel, Hippolyta's sash began to glow with Divine Light, spreading to her legs in an instant. This allowed her to kick off the ground with speed greatly exceeding the A-Rank, causing an eruption of dust and debris that only appeared after she had reached his side, her small feet packing a phenomenal amount of power as she attempted to kick him in the head.

For a brief moment, Vahn had flashbacks to his first fight against Tiona, but, as he had grown a lot since then, his body moved even without him willing it to do so. He was easily able to catch her by the ankle, surprisingly her slightly, but, before her brows could even raise fully, he had already spun, throwing her with meteoric force towards wall furthest from the spectators. Her 50kg body smashed into the wall with enough force to break through it completely, causing the stands above to collapse as several tons of stone and debris rained down upon her from above.

As he had mainly just diverted her force away from him, Vahn was a little surprised by just how much damage Hippolyta's attack had done. Though he had felt a spike of Divine Energy at the moment of her attack, the overall output was far higher than expectations. It was fortunate he had diverted her attack to the far side of the arena, preventing a case of 'friendly fire' due to the hot-headed Amazon Queen's inability to properly control the Strength and Destructive Laws coursing through her body...

Without waiting for Hippolyta to recover, Vahn took in an unnaturally long breath, that, despite its length, was completed within a millisecond. Then, after sliding forward in a graceful arc that brought him close to the ground, a phantasmal white tiger formed around his body, launching forward with its jaws open when he brought his palms together, emulating a set of jaws. This attack moved slow enough that even the children in the stands could perceive it, but, in spite of this, it smashed into the area concealing Hippolyta in less time than it would take to blink...

Though Vahn's attack was significantly flashier, it actually contained a similar amount of destructive potential as Hippolyta's. He was serious about matching her power, so, while the shockwave created by his strike seemed to tear through nearly a quarter of the coliseum, this was largely due to the fact its structure had been compromised by Hippolyta's explosion...

Now that it was Hippolyta's 'turn', Vahn adopted a defensive pose once again, his expression as calm and serene as a placid lake. Even when a large boulder came crashing towards him, weighing several hundred kilograms, he simply extended his hand, pointing it like a blade. This caused the boulder to split in two the moment it entered within ten meters of his body, sliced apart by solidified Space and crashing harmlessly at his side.

From behind the boulder, Hippolyta's slightly bloodied figure could be seen, a valiant expression on her face as she released a loud 'Ha!' while trying to break through his defense with an ax-kick. What she didn't expect was for her heel to strike against solidified Space. This allowed Vahn to exploit the gap in her defenses, exhaling a cloud of vapor as his 'slowly' pushed upward.

The moment Vahn completed his motion, Hippolyta felt as if a mountain had slammed into her from the direction of the ground. Her body was launched skyward, her kicking leg forcibly hyperextended to the point of nearly snapping as the force of her own kick was leveraged against her.

Though Vahn could no longer transform into his previous four forms, the power they granted had, in a way, always been his. So long as he partially transformed into his Huánglóng form, he could freely use the powers of Báihǔ, Xuánwǔ, Zhūquè, and Qīnglóng. This allowed him an exponential increase in all of his capabilities, pushing him well beyond the threshold used by the Root System to quantify Parameters. The only thing that hadn't broken through the limit was his Luck, but, considering the kind of life he lived, Vahn didn't really mind it all that much...

Despite one of her legs being made useless, Hippolyta managed to land nimbly on a single foot. It looked like she could easily continue the battle, but, instead of charging a third time, she asked in a not-so-polite tone of voice, "Are you looking down on me!? You could have easily struck me while I was in the air. If you're not going to take this seriously, I will personally vow to hunt you down, never stopping until one of us is dead...!"

Vahn was tempted to roll his eyes in response to Hippolyta's words, but, when it came to her type, he knew she was very serious about her claims. Thus, rather than dignify her outburst with a verbal response, golden light erupted from his body, momentarily blinding the spectators. This also caused Hippolyta to jump to the side, but, at nearly the exact same moment that her feet left the ground, an inviolable power closed around her neck, stopping her evasive maneuver in an instant.

Hippolyta felt her airway closed off in an instant, but, even if this hadn't been the case, drawing even a single breath would have been impossible. She felt a wave of heat and pressure spread through her body, forcing all of her muscles to contract and lock. The last sound to escape her lips was a half-croaking groan, almost like a frog that had been stepped upon by a careless hunter. Then, just as her brain began to process the pain she was experiencing, she completely blacked out, her body going limp in Vahn's resplendent golden claws...

After removing his palm from Hippolyta's abdomen, Vahn set the proud warrior on the ground, his expression still a mask of calm as he looked toward Musashi and said, "She will be out for an hour or so. If your side has anyone capable of healing, they should take a look at her leg. I can treat it, but I doubt she would be very happy once she woke up."

Despite Vahn's casual tone, his partial-transformation made his voice significantly deeper, causing it to echo throughout the entire arena, lending it an unmistakably intimidating quality. Even Musashi felt a little nervous when Vahn turned his attention toward her, their previous battle still fresh in her mind. As a result, she laughed in a somewhat awkward manner before picking up Hippolyta's body and saying, "I tried to warn her..."

Since he knew she was just trying to ease tensions, Vahn shrugged his shoulders dismissively as his transformation wore off. This caused the oppressive aura within the coliseum to fade away, allowing those who had experienced its pressure to breathe easily. As a result, several sighs could be heard, confusing the 'children' who, due to Vahn's careful control, hadn't experienced the same pressure as everyone else...

---

Fortunately, there were several people capable of using healing magic among the Heroes Faction. As a result, Hippolyta was allowed to rest within the coliseum's stands as a doll-like girl named Alice did her best to treat the valiant Amazon's injuries.

Vahn was slightly curious about Alice's body, as he noticed that she, and her 'twin sister', both had artificial bodies. This was a stark contrast to the 'Betty' that had appeared before, but, as it wasn't his business to probe, Vahn would wait until the topic came up in a more organic fashion. He speculated that Alice's body was similar to the dolls created by Touko, but, based on the fact her joints could be seen clearly, the workmanship was incomparable to those produced by Aoko's sister...

While leaving Alice to tend to Hippolyta's wounds, Vahn manifested a large circular table, allowing everyone to take a seat so they could discuss the specifics of their 'relationship'. This would include making proper introductions, and, once everything else was resolved, they would discuss adding more Heroic Spirits to supplement the group's diminishing numbers...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The Olympians are so screwed xD...','Talk shit, get hit','TFW you have to rely on your 'mortal enemy' just to supplement your numbers...')

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