Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though it was customary to evaluate a new Gladiator's strength before arranging a match for them, Vahn's previous act of wreaking havoc had invalidated the need for such measures. He was actually quite hated among the staff of the Coliseum, so, while others would start off by facing off against a few magical creatures, his first opponent was a relatively famous Gladiator, someone who had been able to win 83 of their Hundred-Series matches.

When Vahn first heard about his opponent, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes, ignoring the hateful looks he was receiving from the organizers as he prepared for the coming fight. It ultimately didn't matter how they tried to scheme against him; in the end, he was just here to familiarize himself with the restrictions of the Akamatsuverse. Something that forced him to discard propriety was bound to happen, as, with the popularity of the Coliseum, various Aristocrats and Nobles would be observing his matches.

While waiting for his own match to begin, Vahn absentmindedly observed the other contenders that mulled around the waiting room. There were a total of twenty-three people of various races, ages, and genders. Most wore relatively simple clothing, consisting of matted trousers and tattered tunics. Only those who had proven themselves in the Arena were given the chance to obtain better quality clothing and equipment, forcing new Gladiators to fight with their bodies.

Like the rest of the Gladiators, Vahn was wearing relatively plain clothes, but, a stark contrast to even the most well-equipped among them, his clothes were pristine and unblemished. This drew the eyes of nearly every person in the room, earning him a few hateful looks from the more prideful veterans in the group. Even then, they didn't try to make trouble, as, for reasons few people would be able to understand, Vahn gave off a natural and intimidating aura. If they could actually see why this was, it undoubtedly would have caused a few of them to laugh...

Ever since he had arrived in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn seemed to have become a veritable magnet for Elemental Spirits. At the present moment, there were more than a hundred lingering around him, and, despite his constant efforts to remove them, a new batch would quickly replace those climbing on his body. He didn't really have the heart to 'scare' them away, so, with the most casual demeanor he could manage, Vahn simply pretended they didn't exist...

When it finally came time for his match to begin, Vahn didn't even bother to remove the Elementals for his body when he rose to his feet. This caused some of them to release high pitched sounds, but, rather than fall 'normally', they would float to the ground like fallen leaves before bouncing after him with the larger group. It almost felt like he had become a mother duck, unable to shake off a literal hoard of multi-colored ducklings...

---

As the matches in the Coliseum were the most entertaining pastimes for most residents of the Hellas Empire, a lot of effort went into organizing the event and hyping up the crowd. There were hundreds of official brokers to handle bets, monstrously powerful barriers to protect the crowd, and, though they were exorbitantly expensive, large monitors that allowed those in the 'nosebleed' seats to see what was going on below.

In an effort to hype up the crowd and keep people interested, special announcers and referees had also been prepared. In the past, these roles had been filled by famous Gladiators, but, due to a small shift in social dynamics, the most popular fight casters were beautiful women. Their voices carried a lot better over acoustics, and, with many casters competing for popularity, it had become normal to see a few of the bolder beauties show off a fair amount of skin.

Aiming for the number one caster position, Urszula Padi Glowacka wasn't shy when it came to riling up the crowd. She was a rather petite Hellas woman with the same characteristic bronze skin, blonde hair, curved horns, and fur-covered ears as other Hellasian women. What allowed her to 'shine' were her tight leather shorts, the form-fitting top that hugged her voluminous chest, and the ornamental devil wings and tail that made her look like a succubus. She was also provided a harness that allowed her to fly around the Arena as she excitedly commented on the events taking place inside. This had made her rather popular among the fans, much to the chagrin of her competition.

Hearing the explanation from the producers, Urszula began to hype the crowd up by performing a few acrobatic maneuvers as she exclaimed, "The next match is sure to be a special treat! Not only are we going to witness the debut of a new Gladiator, but his opponent is none other than the Blade of Darkness' Bane, Zeigrein Lesiak~! And...what's this!? I'm being told the new Gladiator is responsible for the tragic events of yesterday afternoon! Will we be witnessing another bloodbath, or will the Blade of Darkness' Bane enact justice on behalf of the tragic men and women who lost their lives in yesterday's attack!?"

Though killing your opponent was supposed to be against the rules, a number of lives were lost in the Coliseum each day. There were no great penalities for 'accidentally' killing your opponent, so, at times, the organizers used stronger Gladiators to kill or cripple people that had offended them. This was generally frowned upon, causing an uproar whenever the truth was exposed, but few people did anything to try and change the broken system. All most citizens cared about was watching a bloody match and making money, allowing them to overlook such injustices entirely.

Normally, a Fight Caster would never directly draw attention to the fact a match was one-sided, as it hurt the gambling odds, but the producers had made an exception this time around. They wanted to rile up the crowd and get them to hate Vahn. Not only had he killed Coliseum personnel, but he was also a 'vile human', an indiscriminate killer who had butchered more than fifty Demihumans without remorse. Rumors were already circulating about the previous incident, so they had spun it in a way that made their people the victims by turning it into a racial issue. They didn't even allow Urszula to mention his name, simply mentioning his crimes in an effort to make him seem more like a monster.

When the crowd saw what appeared to be a human male in his late twenties enter into the Arena, they immediately erupted. Though it was against the rules, some people unhesitantly threw their concession items, causing a shower of partially eaten food to phase through the Arena's barrier. It wasn't impossible to create a barrier that blocked physical attacks, but most magical barriers were just that, barriers that blocked magic attacks. This allowed the closer audience members to try and pelt Vahn with food, but, without getting anywhere near him, everything thrown simply deviated to the sides...

Vahn wasn't surprised by the amount of hatred directed toward him, but, seeing Elementals readily block the things thrown at him, he couldn't help but smile slightly. This, of course, earned him even more booing and jeering, but, as he had never particularly cared about the opinions of people who were swayed by the machinations of others, he ignored them. Instead, he focused on the other side of the Arena, observing the entrance of his opponent.

Standing at 193cm tall, Ziegrein was a mountain of a man with dark skin, spiky black hair, two large canine ears, and a bushy tail that was covered in as many scars as his bare chest. He was a member of one of the various Beastman tribes, specifically the Black Wolf tribe indigenous to the forests of Elysium, the Continent to the West. Though they were typically on the smaller side, there were a few larger members of the tribe that were designated as Alphas due to their vastly superior speed and strength.

Seeing the rather feral-looking man, Vahn looked towards his left ear, noticing more than half of the fluffy protrusion was missing. It always reminded him of the incident with Milan whenever he saw a damaged ear or tail, so he had to restrain a sigh as he looked towards the massive cleaver-like sword on the man's back, asking, "You don't think that is a bit excessive...?"

Hearing his opponent speak, Ziegrien's eyes sharpened like daggers as he flashed his sharp canines and said, "It's perfect for slaying beasts and monsters..."

Shaking his head, Vahn ignored the cheering Ziegrien's words had caused, holding out his hand with a wry smile on his face as he said, "Paw..."

With his hair standing on end, Ziegrien didn't wait for the signal to begin, flexing his powerful legs to propel himself the 100m distance between him and Vahn in an instant. The sword on his back, which was more of a slab of jagged metal than anything else, created a tearing sound as it flashed through the air with surprising swiftness. Despite this, Vahn likened the attack to one performed by a weaker Einzbern Homunculi, meaning he was only around twenty times stronger than a normal human.

Since it felt like he had literal seconds to block the attack, Vahn didn't immediately catch Ziegrien's blade out of the air. He noticed the Elementals got upset the moment the man unsheathed his blade and tried to attack, his killing intent riling them up quite a bit. As a result, without him needing to do anything at all, some of the Elementals fused together before blasting the unsuspecting swordsman with a barrage of fire, wind, and water elemental energy.

Vahn knew his [True Friend of the Elements] would come in handy, but he never expected it would cause the Elements to proactively defend him. This gave him the idea of traveling to the nine sacred regions that were governed by Greater Elemental Spirits. For Mages and Knights specializing in one or two elements, they would make a pilgrimage to these locations in the hopes of learning from the true masters of said element. They were already on his list, but, seeing how readily the usually docile Elementals attacked Ziegrien, there could be a lot of merit to visiting them sooner...

As his opponent hadn't so much as moved a single centimeter, Ziegrien couldn't help but retreat a few meters, starting at Vahn like he was an actual monster. Most Magi needed staves or special rings to be able to cast Magic, and, even then, they required the use of incantations, chants, or activation keys. Seeing someone use Magic without the use of a catalyst or a chant was unheard of, unless, of course, you were an Elementalist.

Believing his opponent was hiding somehow hiding his contracted Spirits, Ziegrien released a bright blue magical aura from his body, a type of natural reinforcement magic that functioned similarly to [Mellodia Bellax]. It allowed him to greatly increase his speed, and, so long as his reserves held out, he would be able to resist weaker Magic attacks.

Seeing his opponent release an aura, Vahn's eyes flickered with a golden light as he used his [Eyes of Truth] to determine just how strong Ziegrein had become. He could see the man's internal energy surging like a fire that had gasoline thrown onto it. This made him much stronger than before, but, due to his weak foundation, there was no way he could keep it up for more than a few minutes.

Shaking his head, Vahn lifted his right hand, revealing a katana nobody had noticed him pulling out. He adopted a relatively casual stance, but, the moment he did so, Ziegrein literally jumped back like he was evading a lethal attack. His evasion was so swift that he nearly impacted the physical wall of the Arena, his eyes widening as his pupils rapidly expanded and contracted.

Vahn was quite surprised by Ziegrein's reaction, causing him to issue a light hum before asking, "Is it the benefit of your enhanced instincts? I'm surprised someone at your level can sense the difference in our skill...it's no wonder you have lived until now."

Though it looked like his opponent had countless openings, Ziegrein's instincts were screaming at him to run away. His fight or flight response was issuing a resounding call for flight, quickly quelling any thoughts he had of fighting back. Instead, he pressed his back flat against the wall, ignoring the protests of the crowd as he asked, "What...what are you...?"

With his excitement almost completely drained, Vahn dropped his stance completely, looking toward the booing crowd as he answered, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. You need not worry about forgetting it...from today onward, you'll be hearing it often..."

Before Ziegrein could ask what Vahn was talking about, the latter pointed his katana toward the sky, silencing the entire crowd as he said, "Set alight the all-consuming flame, Laevateinn...!"

From the moment Vahn released his Shikai, a heavy pressure spread nearly 10km in every direction from his position. His domain had more than doubled in size, its volume increasing by around ten times what it had been previously. As for his Base Power, it increased from 1,018 to 7,490, showing that power did, indeed, plateau. A Shikai was supposed to increase its user's power by around ten times, meaning he should have been at 10,180. Since the volume of his domain had increased, the only reasonable answer was that Base Power plateaued at certain points, something he would need to learn more about as he familiarized himself with the world...

Now that he had everyone's undivided attention, Vahn let Laev-tan rest on his shoulder, smiling in a way that didn't quite reach his eyes as he stated in a voice that echoed from all of the monitors, "My purpose here is to seek absolution for my past actions, not perform for your entertainment. It is your own prerogative if you wish to observe my battles, but, if you deign to intervene in the future, do not blame me for taking matters into my own hands. You came here to witness battles and make money, not act like a mob of petulant children. This is the only warning I will afford you...do not forget it..."

Though his words were enough to cow most people, Vahn wanted to deter those who believed they could do whatever they wanted just because they were in a crowd. He would mete out punishment to the organizers for rabblerousing, but, for now, his goal was to teach a lesson to the masses. Thus, with a strike most people couldn't even perceive, he brandished Laev-tan in a smooth arc. From the perspective of others, he went from standing confidently to having already completed his attack, a peculiar sight that almost made it seem as though the world had glitched.

By the time their mental faculties began to catch up with them, the crowd could only stare in horror as a visible crack appeared on the barrier meant to protect them. Most had never even heard of such a phenomenon occurring, but, much like a fish tank that had been compromised, the crack spread in a jarring manner, accompanied by a soul-shaking sound. Then, like fragmented glass, the part of the barrier that had been closed to Vahn simply shattered into pieces...

Ignoring the ache in his arm, Vahn gave a small nod of approval to himself before turning his gaze to Ziegrein and saying, "You are free to go. In the future, come see me about that left ear of yours. I can help you heal it. I can sense that you are a good person, so consider it my apology for breaking your winning streak."

As if only just then remembering why he was in the Arena, a small amount of Ziegrein's willpower came back. His reason ultimately won out, however, causing him to nod his head in understanding as he picked up his previously discarded weapon and said, "I'll keep that in mind..." before quickly departing the Arena.

After watching Ziegrein retreat, Vahn returned Laev-tan to her sealed state before looking up at the fight caster who, at this point, had fallen into the viewing stands. Her immediate reaction was to try and hide behind other members of the audience, but, realizing her intentions, everyone nearby had immediately moved away from her. This left her alone in a small void that had been opened in the previously packed audience, tears building up in corner of her eyes as she accepted her fate...

Ignoring the urge to laugh, Vahn adopted a casual smile as he asked, "Are you going to announce my victory...?"

Hearing the terrifying man's words, Urszula felt her body tense up, but, when her mind actually processed them, she opened her eyes, tilting her head to the side as she muttered a somewhat adorable, "Yes...?"

Vahn felt this Fight Caster was a bit on the ditzy type, causing his smile to turn more sincere as he gave a small nod, stating, "Proceed. I don't want to hold up the other matches."

As if given newfound purpose, energy returned to Urszula's body as she flittered up into the air, her voice a little higher than normal as she exclaimed, "A-And the victory goes to our newest Gladiator, the Sage Dragon Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Let's all give him a round of applause...!?"

Despite the attempted fervor in Urszula's voice, most of the crowd was still recovering from having their bodies and minds pressured by Vahn's aura. He had held back considerably, as he might have accidentally killed someone otherwise, but they were still slow to recover. Those closest to the exits had come to their senses a little faster than most, but, due to their uncooperative limbs, they hadn't been able to flee very far.

Without waiting for anything like applause, Vahn gave an approving nod towards Urszula before turning around and departing the Arena. It wasn't until he had completely vanished that the majority of people began returning to their senses, but, even then, they weren't quite sure what, exactly, had happened. It almost felt like a nightmare, one that left behind a partially shattered barrier that, even now, continued to crackle...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Elementals: "It's a race to the top...!" *scales Vahn like a mountain*','The curse of 'perfect' memory (o_o)...','Vahn isn't laying low very well xD...')

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