Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 1997: Repercussions

With the defeat of four Family Leaders spreading like wildfire, a wave of chaos swept through the Tower with seemingly unstoppable momentum. Some of this was incited by organizations such as FUG, but, more influential than even that were the negative sentiments that had been building over the last ten-thousand-years. There were a significant number of people who resented one or more of the Great Families, so, now that someone with the power to oppose them had appeared, groups waving banners representative of the Adrnari Empire began to appear all throughout the Tower.

Though he could understand their desire for freedom and liberty, Vahn had never been fond of the types of opportunists who attempted to enact justice using someone else's name. If they had truly believed in the cause he supposedly represented, they would have taken action long before he had demonstrated his power. Instead, they waited until someone would act as their representative and shield in order to perpetuate all kinds of heinous and vicious crimes, willfully excusing their actions with phrases like 'justice' and 'retribution'.

Exemplifying this sentiment to the most extreme, there were even groups who had been borderline antagonistic towards the Aldrnari Empire who immediately took up its flag in the wake of events on the 100th Floor. Their intention was to commit all manner of atrocities in an effort to simultaneously tarnish the reputation of the Aldrnari Empire and secure power for themselves in the wake of events to come. Periods in which there were drastic changes in the status quo were perfect for securing power for smaller organizations, as, more often than not, the newer administration simply didn't have time to worry about what third-party groups were doing.

In an effort to combat this kind of behavior, Vahn made good on his promise to Han by attending a joint-press briefing organized by the Jahad Empire, representatives of the Workshop, and numerous officials from the Ranker's Association. There, he expressed his condolences towards those who had been made to suffer, but, regardless of their circumstances, he made it transparently clear he wasn't going to support a violent insurrection. To this effect, he cautioned against using his or the Aldrnari Empire's names to promote violence, as, not only would he not take their side, he would proactively eliminate anyone daring to commit atrocities in his name.

This announcement took the wind out of various organization's sails, but, as was often the case, it was far from enough to deter everyone. There were a number of groups that attempted to convince people that the Aldrnari Empire supported their cause, but, for the sake of some grand scheme, the truth simply couldn't be divulged at this time. This caused various rumors and countless conspiracy theories to propagate throughout the Tower, but, considering the other statements Vahn had made during the press conference, this much was to be expected.

To the surprise of virtually everyone, Vahn used the press briefing as an opportunity to acquaint the Tower's residents with its purpose. He gave them a brief overview of the worlds that existed beyond the Tower, explained the importance of Karma, and, most importantly, he announced that he would be opening the way forward for those with the resolve to reach the top. To that end, he intended to coordinate with the Workshop and the Ranker's Association to overhaul the existing system so that it was more than just a filter for recruitment.

Though the average resident found it hard to rationalize the existence of 200 Floors, much less the reality of an infinite multiverse, the notion that he would be opening the way forward was enough to lend credibility to countless rumors. The underlying implication was that Vahn and Jahad would be settling things in the near future, and, based on the acquiescence of numerous Family Leaders, many believed that the former would emerge the victor. After all, while Hana had ultimately refused to attend, Han, Hon, Eduan, Tperie, Blossom, and Yurin had all made appearances during the press briefing.

The participation of the latter duo had dealt critical damage to Vahn's mental state, as, not only did they express their intentions to support his reforms, they took advantage of the platform to inform the residents of the Tower of their imminent departure. This drastically increased the believability of Vahn's argument, but, at the same time, it also bound him to the two troublesome families.

Fortunately, unlike the Families created by their male counterparts, the Eurasia and Ha Families were relatively small. The Eurasia Family, in particular, had a main family consisting of a mere nine people, chiefly Blossom and her direct descendants. Every other descendant had either received Blossom's 'Power of Blood', effectively making them artificial members of the Eurasia Family, or they had been adopted into the family via marriage. As for the Ha Family, they were decidedly more 'prolific' when it came to the production of offspring, but, due to their fearless, violent, and competitive natures, a surprising few actually managed to reach adulthood. Among this group of survivors, many lost their lives within the first hundred years of becoming a Ranker, so, while it was an inherent truth that the Ha Family had the greatest number of High Rankers, effectively making them the strongest among the Ten Great Families, their mortality rate was only exceeded by the Khun and Hendo Lok Families.

Vahn wasn't particularly fond of the Ha Family's structure, but, having dealt with similar cultures, the only thing he forced them to change was the way they educated and reared their young. There was nothing inherently wrong with starting their training early, especially in a world with vast disparities in strength, but, regardless of their personal belief, violence against the 'weak' was never justified. If a child was more interested in reading and studying than punching metal pylons for tens of hours a day, that was their right. To this end, he used Yuri's tantalizing power as an example, expressing that only those of pure heart and righteous character could become Saiyans...

---

Though he had been straying away from relying on the Little Garden, Vahn currently found himself seated in the middle of an indestructible cube as he watched two near-identical women exchanging blows in the skies of the Tenth Layer. The only obvious differences between the two beauties were their apparent ages, their bust size, and, at least for the moment, the color of their hair. Everything else was virtually identical, so much so that Vahn found it laughable that people thought they were distantly related rather than actual mother and daughter...

Unaware of the thoughts playing across Vahn's mind, the younger of the duo, possessing a shapely figure and scarlet red hair, brought both of her hands to her side, shouting, "Kaaaameeeeeehaaaa-" as a compressed ball of energy formed between her palms. This caused a massive grin to appear on the face of her raven-haired opponent, who, despite having become a Saiyan less than a week prior, managed to exude a golden aura as she surged forward with seemingly unstoppable momentum.

With the hairs across her body standing on end, the redheaded beauty, Yuri, backed into the Shinsu Bubble she had manifested behind her back. This allowed her to instantaneously teleport away, but, demonstrating a remarkable battle sense, her opponent, none other than Ha Yurin, spun around at the last moment, allowing her own back to impact the rapidly shrinking Bubble. As a result, she was able to follow Yuri through to her destination, surprising the latter with a vicious blow to the center of her diaphragm before immediately transitioning into a barrage of punches and kicks.

To her credit, Yuri was able to defend against many of Yurin's attacks, but, due to their comparable power and an insurmountable difference in experience, defending was the only thing she could do. Every time she even thought to counter, one of Yurin's blows would slip through her guard, and, no matter how much she steeled herself, the opening created by the initial blow would result in several more slipping through before she was able to create enough distance to correct her posture.

In spite of this, Yuri was actually enjoying herself quite a bit, as, even as recent as two years ago, she couldn't even imagine being able to trade blows with any Family Leader, much less the matriarch of her own. She knew this was largely the result of her association with Vahn, but, even more than that, it was her desire to become strong that allowed her to consistently break through her limits, even in the midst of battle.

Unfortunately, even this wasn't enough to overcome her current opponent, as, every time she grew stronger, so too did Yurin. Vahn had explained that this was the result of an Innate that allowed her to consolidate power based on the strengths and beliefs of her descendants, so, with Yurin working tirelessly to become stronger, it was almost impossible to surpass her.

While this would be more than enough to deter others, the prospect of a foe that grew stronger as she did only served to increased Yuri's excitement. It allowed her to continuously improve, and, due to the vast disparity in their combat experience, her proficiency was increasing rapidly. Thus, rather than feeling even remotely discouraged by the difference in strength, the light in Yuri's eyes shone vibrantly up until the moment she was knocked unconscious with an ax kick to the head...

With the fur across her body dissipating along with the red coloration of her hair, Yuri's body was seen careening towards the ground with a force comparable to a small moon about to collide with a planet. Despite this, her momentum completely dissipated a few centimeters above the ground, as, prior to the battle, Vahn had modified the Laws of the Little Garden to erase the concept of fall damage. This was an ability he had acquired during his stay in the Toaruverse, and, so long as they were in a Realm governed by his will, even a newborn infant would be able to fall tens of thousands of meters without sustaining a single injury.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Yurin maintained a massive grin as she shifted her attention away from the unconscious body of her daughter and looked towards Vahn. Immediately thereafter, she appeared right in front of him, fist smashing harmlessly against the paper-thin barrier surrounding him and the other spectators as she said, "That makes ten in a row. When are you going to man up and fight me?"

Though the punch hadn't done any damage, the sound of Yurin's voice caused the pink-haired girl using Vahn's lap as a pillow to open her eyes, an annoyed expression developing across her face as she swept her hand in a dismissive gesture. This caused a veritable ocean of vibrant pink Shinsu to manifest out of thin air, smashing into Yurin before proceeding to flood several hundred kilometers of the Tenth Floor with the remarkable fragrant liquid.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Vahn gestured with his left hand, instantaneously dispersing the vibrant pink Shinsu before patting the pink-haired girl's head and saying, "I'll be departing the Little Garden soon. Are you going to stay here with your daughters?"

Rather than immediately replying to his question, the pink-haired girl stared up at him for nearly a full minute before asking, "Do you need my help...?" in a remarkably high-pitched tone reminiscent of an excessively cute girl in anime.

While continuing to caress the girl's addictively smooth hair, Vahn adopted his characteristic smile as he said, "That won't be necessary. Unless you choose to do so of your own volition, neither you nor the members of your family will ever have to fight. Even if you choose to spend the rest of your life sleeping within the Ninth Layer, I wouldn't blame you."

With a delicate smile developing across her face, the pink-haired girl, none other than the Leader of the Eurasia Family, Blossom, responded by placing her head in his lap and promptly returning to the land of dreams. This left Vahn with a wry smile on his face, but, having acclimated to the clinginess of Eurasia Family members, his response was to caress the inordinately petite woman's head as time around them began to flow in reverse...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Opportunistic individuals are cancer~','Vahn over here baiting beauties into becoming furries...','(O w O)...')

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