Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2114: An Important Lesson

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< Fairytale in Perseus >

[Win Condition]

Defeat the Leader representing the Host Community.

[Hidden Conditions]

None

[Rules]

1: The Leader of the Community that Hosts the Game is not allowed to leave the deepest part of the White Palace.

2: The Participants from the Community that Hosts the Game are not allowed to enter the deepest part of the White Palace.

3: Participants are not to let themselves be seen by members of the Host Community with the sole exception of the Leader.

4: Participants that have been spotted will be seen as eliminated, hence losing the right to challenge the Leader.

5: Participants who have been eliminated will only lose their right to challenge the Leader but can otherwise continue the Game.

[Restrictions]

1: Destruction of the Game Board: White Palace, is Prohibited.

2: Gifts that overwrite the Divine Protection of the Little Garden are Prohibited.

3: Gifts that inflict curses or injuries that persist beyond the duration of the Game are Prohibited.

4: The area outside of the White Palace is considered a Forbidden Area.

5: Teleportation and other forms of Spatial Movement are Prohibited.

[Time Limit]

000:000:01:58:54

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"Mmm...they're really pulling out all the stops, aren't they?"

Though there were a few obvious loopholes he could exploit, the members of Perseus had come up with a relatively decent set of Rules and Restrictions. It was obvious this wasn't their first rodeo, but, while other people might struggle to infiltrate a Colosseum-like structure guarded by a batallion of highly skilled soldiers, several of which were invisible and capable of flight, Vahn was able to literally walk through the people guarding the premises.

Waving his hand in front of a rather serious-looking individual, a smile spread across Vahn's face as he mused, "Guess they've never gone up against someone who is intangible and can shift from the Principle Axis of Reality. Unlucky."

On that note, Vahn walked through the literal shield wall blocking the entrance to the Colosseum's depths. He harbored no ill will towards the lesser members of the Perseus Community. His conflict was with Laius, so, while he could have easily knocked each and every one of them unconscious without being spotted, he intended to wrap things up quickly so he wouldn't need to deal with a seventeen-year-old Sarina.

With that in mind, Vahn stepped out into the arena located at the center of the Colosseum. There, her found Laius seated atop a golden throne with a lavish, royal purple background. He had a fierce expression on his face, and, based on how he was nervously tapping his armrest, the complete lack of any and all sounds of conflict was beginning to wear on him.

Fortunately for Laius, there was something Vahn needed to take care of before teaching the youth a lesson in propriety. Thus, instead of simply walking up and smacking Laius while he was still seated on the throne, he allowed his existence to align with reality, saying, "Yo." the moment he came into view.

"...!?"

Though he had already begun to suspect that Vahn had the means to turn invisible, Laius's eyes still widened when the former appeared at the exact center of the arena.

"Those useless fools...!"

Slamming his fist on the throne's armrest, Laius rose to his feet with a half-crazed expression as he added, "Completely worthless, every single one of them...!"

Instead of refuting Laius's claim, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before adopting a smug grin and asking, "What did you expect when even you, their Leader, is a wastrel?"

Glaring with an intensity that made it appear as though he was about to shoot lasers from his eyes, wings of bluish-white light emerged from Laius's ankles as he took to the sky and shouted, "That's it! You can all go to hell...!"

"Well, that was easy..."

Seeing Laius grab the gorgon-like stone charm attached to his choker, Vahn's expression gradually relaxed. He had been worried that Laius might grow a brain and surrender. If that happened, his job would have become marginally more difficult.

"Awaken, Demon Lord Algol...!"

Following his outburst, Laius extended his hand towards the sky as a massive bolt of malicious red lightning erupted from the charm in his hand. When it impacted the clouds above, they promptly turned a dark, bluish-purple as their interior swelled with the same red lightning.

"This is taking quite a while..."

Though it was only a few seconds, even microseconds were a long period of time between beings at the highest level. To make matters even worse, Laius was fully focused on the clouds, completely oblivious to what was happening beneath him. Thus, by the time an even larger bolt of lightning hit the center of the arena, Vahn had already disappeared completely.

Fully intending to gloat, Laius's arrogant expression quickly morphed into one of confusion as he looked around and saw no traces of Vahn. Shortly thereafter, his brow began to twitch violently as he shouted, "Do you think you can hide!? Algol, teach this idiot a lesson...!"

Responding to Laius's command, a monstrous, purple-skinned humanoid with blood-red eyes, long purple hair, and frayed, angelic black wings released a shrill, high-pitched roar. At the same time, its clearly female frame began to swell in size, its body straining at the thick leather bindings and white padded clothes that gave it the appearance of an escaped mental patient.

From within the creature's mouth, a reddish-purple light began to build until Vahn, appearing like a phantom, manifested right underneath her. She had grown to a height of around 2.5 meters at this point so it was pretty easy to look up at her as he asked, "You've suffered quite a bit, haven't you?"

Instead of answering his question, the monster, Algol, arched its body forward to fire the beam of light point-blank into Vahn's face. This caused Laius's face to light up like the sky on New Year's, his expression becoming even more crazed as he began cackling like a madman. Algol's beams of light were capable of petrifying entire worlds, and, so long as she was empowered with Divinity, even the Gods would fall prey to her curse.

"Serves you right, you stupid mother-"

Unable to finish his words, Laius's eyes widened as a clawed hand closed around the lower half of his face. At the same time, Algol, still standing in the middle of the arena, collapsed forward like a poorly balanced statue.

"To be honest, I don't really give a damn about you, your words, or even your actions. If you never appeared before me, you could have lived your entire life without having to fear my wrath. Instead, you keep opening this stupid little mouth of yours without any consideration for the consequences. It's clear to me you've lived a very sheltered life. Allow me to introduce you to the real world."

Though he did his best to kick and punch free of Vahn's grasp, Laius couldn't even get the former to flinch as his hand gradually tightened around his face and jaw. He even tried to pull out one of his father's most powerful Gifts, a hooked sword known as the Harpe. In legends, it was the sword that cut off the head of Medusa, and, as a result, it gained the unique ability to cut down Gods and slay Celestial Spirits.

Unfortunately, despite mustering every ounce of his strength, Laius barely managed to nick Vahn's neck as the latter mercilessly crushed his lower jaw.

"Oops. It looks like you won't be able to surrender. Guess that means you're stuck with me until time runs out or you lose the right to participate."

On that note, Vahn released Laius from his grasp, a tremendous volume of blood staining his hand as the formerly arrogant man held his jaw and released an excruciatingly pained whimper. It mostly came out as a gargle due to his jaw hanging freely from the tendons, but, compared to the words he had been speaking beforehand, it might as well be music to Vahn's ears.

"You know, I don't normally do things like this. Even if you were the kind of person who exploited children and performed all manner of profane acts, my normal modus operandi is to simply kill my enemies and return them to the cycle of reincarnation. Since that isn't an option this time around, I have decided to spend the next hour or so teaching you your first lesson in Buddhist Principles...life is suffering..."

Without affording Laius the time to process what he had just said, Vahn pointed to the ground, his voice resonating through the void as he stated, "You do not have my permission to fly..."

...

..

.

While Vahn was busy teaching Laius a lesson, a much calmer version of the empathic Emperor was looking down at Algol with a wry smile on his face. He had used his own variation of Severing Laws to sever any fate she had with Laius. This included the contract that had effectively turned her into a monster, so, rather than a malicious-looking demon, Vahn currently found himself looking down on a young girl with pale purple skin and long, dark-purple hair...

"I already expected as much, but why are all the Star Class Demon Lords legal lolis or perverted old men? I'm starting to think the creator of the world is a bit of a pervert..."

Shaking his head, Vahn dismissed that train of thought as he knelt down and placed the tips of his index and middle fingers against the crown of Algol's head. The moment he did, a frown formed on his face, as, even after removing the contract that bound her, the damage she had sustained to her mind was irreversible. Algol was part of the first generation Problem Children alongside Shiroyasha and a Sadomasochistic woman known as Queen Halloween. She was an extremely prideful person, so, in her attempts to break free from the mental shackles imposed upon her by Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis, she had basically ruined her mind. He could heal her physical injuries but most of what made Algol the person she was had been destroyed.

"I'm starting to get a little fed up with how the Olympians of every world are basically monsters..."

(*It's because they are the most 'human' amongst the Gods in various pantheons. I can't speak for the people who came up with the originals, but I believe they were intended to represent the most extreme aspects of humanity. Fortunately, this is the Divine Realm. If you can obtain their Fragment of Origin, you can basically recreate the Olympians across all realities. Kind of like what you did with Ishtar back in the Nasuverse.*)

Though he was about to argue that it wouldn't be right to just arbitrarily change history, the words got caught in Vahn's throat when he heard Sis's remark about Ishtar. He hadn't really thought about it but there wasn't much of a difference between using a Page of the Akashic Tome and redefining a God's existence by obtaining their Fragment of Origin...

Exhaling a sigh, Vahn muttered, "I'll think about it...I mean, it's only a matter of time before I govern over all realities. Fixing a few issues along the way wouldn't hurt..."

With that in mind, Vahn sent a surge of energy into Algol's body to rouse the sleeping demon from her slumber. When she opened her eyes, tremendous confusion could be seen within the depths of her ruby-red irises. Vahn was going to ask if she was okay, but, before the words could form on his lips, the petite demoness looked up at him with a pleasantly surprised look on her face as she said, "Wow, you're pretty cute. Mind telling this beautiful Onee-san your name? If you're honest, I might give you a reward~?"

"..."

...

..

.

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Nothing to see here~','The Path to Enlightenment is filled with pain and suffering. Humu...','Shiroyasha be rolling on the floor laughing...')

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