Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

With several centimeters of water already coating the lower-lying regions of the battlefield, Vahn had Kyrie transform into her 'true form', a ten-meter long whale-like creature with a sleek blue coat, a white underbelly, and two wing-like pectoral fins with four ivory white 'fingers'. She also had two angular dorsal fins running parallel along her back, but her most notable feature was the intricate, vibrant red, runes covering much of her body.

Vahn actually thought Kyrie's true form was pretty cool, and, though it made his bottom wet, he enjoyed riding on her back as she gracefully meandered through the intensifying storm, the waters below following after her. She was both majestic and terrifying, so much so that they had yet to be attacked by a single additional party ever since she transformed.

Having grown bored with fighting against weaklings who couldn't even react to her speed, Yoruichi retired to the interior of Vahn's shirt to remain dry and stay warm. As for Latias, Latios, and Xerneas, the twins were having a blast flying around at high speeds through the intensifying storm while the latter was sitting quietly at Vahn's side with her hands neatly folded across her lap. Everything about her gave off the impression of extreme yet natural grace, and, though the winds had been gradually picking up, not even a single strand of Xerneas' hair was out of place as she radiated the bearing of a goddess.

Since Xerneas' crown made it a little hard to pet her, Vahn settled on cradling Yoruichi with his left hand while absentmindedly stroking the smooth and glossy hide of Kyrie with his right. He enjoyed the sensation of being able to send waves of comfort throughout the latter's entire body with just a minimal level of contact. It was a very strange and mesmerizing sensation, one that compelled him to continue pushing his mastery over the Law of Petting to the extreme.

Releasing a sonorous high-pitched whine, Kyrie's elevation began to decrease as a desire to just curl up and take a nap welled up inside of her. This caused Vahn to issue a chuckle, but, rather than stop her, he just guided her to land near the summit of a mountain. Latios had found a cave system with two groups of Regulars huddled up around a small bonfire.

Though it was more than a little unfair to them, Vahn decided he would give them a simple test of principles to determine whether or not he would allow them to continue hiding or eliminate them from the competition. With this in mind, he had Kyrie return to her human form while Xerneas kept watch from within her Lighthouse. Then, with the former curled up in his embrace as he carried her like a princess, Vahn walked into the interior of the cave.

Having already detected Vahn's arrival using their Observers and Lighthouses, the group of nine Regulars quickly assumed a battle formation with two Fisherman at the front, a lone Scout flanking from the side, three Spear Bearers taking up the rear, and two Light Bearers protected by a single Wave Controller representing the 'center' of the formation. There was a pretty healthy mix of males and females within the group, five of the former and four of the latter, so Vahn had high hopes they were either a team comprised of couples or, at the very least, managed to avoid the usual pitfalls of a group of Regulars with females in their group.

Seeing an inordinately handsome man enter the cavern carrying what could best be described as an exotic beauty, the nine didn't immediately attack. Instead, the presumed leader of the group, a girl who appeared to be in her late teens, called out, "Who are you!? Where is the rest of your party!? If you don't answer, we will be forced to attack...!!"

With his impression of the team immediately improving, a relaxed smile spread across Vahn's face as he briefly scanned all nine members. Only the men displayed any real hostility toward him, but, considering he was a handsome man with a beautiful woman in his arms, that was pretty normal.

Replying to the purple-haired woman's words, Vahn maintained his relaxed smile as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. I have decided to let my companion rest for a short while before we return to the battlefield. Since you didn't immediately attack, I have decided to spare your team from elimination. So long as you remain in this cave for the next three days, you will be able to advance without issue."

Hearing the man's response, the presumed leader of the team looked at him like he was some kind of idiot. She thought he had completely lost his marbles, but, seeing how calm he was in the face of being completely surrounded, she knew it would be dangerous to underestimate him. It wasn't rare for Regulars to be cocky but very few could pull off appearing calm while completely outnumbered.

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, the woman gestured for her team to back down but stay alert as she asked, "What are your intentions? Are you trying to rest within this cave? If so, you will need to stay on the far wall...even if you have no malicious intentions, we can't exactly trust you during this kind of competition..."

Smiling back at the woman, Vahn allowed Kyrie to stand on her own two feet, patting her head as he replied, "That's understandable. Still, I'd prefer it if you let me join you so that I might listen to your stories. Depending on your reasons for climbing the Tower, I may reward your efforts...besides, you aren't exactly in a position to simply force me to sit obediently at the side..."

Punctuating his words, Vahn allowed his aura to spread through the large cavern like an explosive shockwave. This forced most of the Regulars to take several steps back, and, by the time they had recovered, Kyrie had already returned to her true form, now appearing much larger due to the fact they were inside confined quarters.

Seeing the massive Shinheuh that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, many of the Regulars present felt a sudden sent of helplessness as they realized the only exit was now blocked. To make matters even worse, the man standing beneath the whale-like creature still had a relaxed smile on his face despite the fact he was releasing an aura that greatly eclipsed his beast.

Before anyone in the group could attack him out of desperation, Vahn gestured for Kyrie to bring her snout near him so he could caress her head as he casually explained, "As I stated previously, I have already decided to spare you from elimination. Now, how about we all take it easy and have a nice, long, chat around the bonfire~?"

---

After several hours of searching for each other, Gandr's and Shibisu's parties had reunited near the ruins of an ancient fortress. It wasn't exactly weathertight, but, after clearing out the teams that had occupied it, they managed to shore up the defenses and form a tight perimeter using a few marble-sized Observers that could be adhered to walls. These were devices that supplemented the use of normal Observers and Lighthouses, effectively removing blind spots whenever static defenses were concerned.

Monitoring their surroundings using Yun-Yun's Lighthouse, Shibisu couldn't help but remark, "Man, Vahn really doesn't know how to hold back. The water level is rising a little faster with each passing hour. At this rate, this entire battlefield is going to be turned into one giant lake within the week..."

Shaking his head, Gandr refuted Shibisu's claim with a bolder one, asserting, "No. This is the effect of Kyrie's Innate ability, 'Drizzle'. Unless she willfully deactivates it, the intensity of the storm outside will increase without limit. It's hard to be certain, but I would argue we have around three days...less if we want to earn enough points to qualify for the Seeded Tournament. Hopefully, Phae will return with Khun's party soon or we'll need to start taking more proactive measures on our own..."

Hearing Gandr's remark, the ears of Endorsi, Anak, and Jung all perked up as the shortest of the trio bounced to her feet and exclaimed, "I want to go out and play! Let's go, Gan-chan~!" in an excited tone. In response, Endorsi lightly snorted, crossing her arms with an amused smile as she remarked, "You can go play with yourself, brat. If Gandr is going to take anyone, it's going to be me. Isn't that right, Fluffy-Butt~?"

Though he wasn't too surprised that the trio had been listening in on his conversation with Shibisu, Gandr couldn't help but release an exasperated sigh as he saw, not just Endorsi and Jung, but Anak staring at him with an anticipatory look. The simplest solution would be to take all or none of them with him, but, knowing Endorsi would be in a huffy mood if he chose to leave her behind, the latter wasn't really an option. The former, however, wasn't much better as Endorsi undoubtedly wanted to mess around a bit once they were alone together...

Since he really hadn't had much alone time with Anak over the past couple of weeks, Gandr took a deep breath before deciding to bite the bullet as he said, "Endorsi...I'll take you out on a date once this round comes to an end. For now...no, never mind. It would make things a lot easier if you kept the base protected, but I guess it wouldn't make sense if a Princess of Jahad was excluded from the Seeded Tournament. Still, I would appreciate it if you let me watch over and protect the rest of our team members. Though I can't help but worry, I'm confident you can deal with most threats even if I'm not present...you're an amazing woman, after all."

Though she was slightly annoyed by the fact Gandr didn't immediately agree to her words, Endorsi calmed down almost instantaneously when she heard his final statement. She was fully aware that he was just trying to pacify her but that didn't mean his words weren't true. Rather, so long as Phae was excluded, she was easily the second-strongest member of Team Wolf Pack. Even if Jung, Serra, and Anak all teamed up to face her, Endorsi was absolutely certain of her victory; so, having already gotten a significant advantage against the 'competition', she didn't mind giving the others a chance to catch up.

With a somewhat scary smile spreading across her face, Endorsi squinted her eyes ever-so-slightly as she replied, "You're right. I am an amazing woman. I'm also pretty magnanimous so I'll agree to let you play around if you agree to fulfill one condition of mine. Know that you can't change your mind once you agree so make sure you properly weigh your options~."

Ignoring the prickly sensation of goosebumps spreading across his body, Gandr returned a casual smile in response to Endorsi's obvious attempt to entrap him, saying, "Sure. I wouldn't really be able to call myself your boyfriend if I didn't trust you. I know you won't request me to become your slave or anything like that so I have no problem agreeing to your conditions..."

Feeling a cold sweat break out across her body, Endorsi's smile became noticeably wry as she had actually been planning to make Gandr play the part of her pet. She wasn't completely comfortable with their current dynamic, but, most importantly, she knew Gandr had the ability to transform into an adorable wolf pup. She wanted to be able to carry him around, cuddle with him, and take him for walks so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try and shoehorn him into acquiescing to her demands. She had even bought him a collar after hearing about its significance from Fenrir and Ryun, but, due to being significantly weaker than him, it would be difficult for her to convince him to wear it...

Realizing that Gandr might have seen through her intentions, Endorsi quickly came up with another condition, whispering it into his ears so that others wouldn't be able to hear. This caused the brows of the former to rise slightly before immediately creasing into a frown. He suddenly felt a powerful urge to give the woman a spanking, but, having already given his word, Gandr ultimately agreed to her unusual request, his expression hardening as he answered, "Fine...just don't go overboard. Don't think I won't punish you if you get out of hand..."

Rather than show any fear in the face of Gandr's remark, Endorsi felt a slight twinge of anticipation in her body as a seductive smile spread across her face. Then, ignoring the gazes of everyone else present, she hugged Gandr's head to her breasts, a heated chuckle escaping her throat as she said, "You can't go back on your word~" in a sultry and amused tone.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Is this even a competition...?','Vahn is a troll xD...','Gandr really did inherit a lot of Vahn's more youthful qualities...')

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