Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though she had never been particularly known for her speed, Mash's rebirth as a Vanargandr more than made up for the qualities she had lacked as a human. It gave her an almost profane amount of flexibility, and, thanks to her training against the incomprehensibly fast Richard, her reaction speed and timing were on another level.

Mash's only real weakness was that she heavily focused on defense, so much so that she had very few means to deal with 'uncooperative' foes. In other words, she could protect people with extreme ease, but, the moment she overextended and began pursuing her enemies, she lacked the means to react to multiple threats simultaneously.

Taking advantage of this 'weakness', the Regulars that had surrounded Vahn's group attempted to charge forward, some brandishing weapons while most were aiming to simply restrain the group of four. The reason for this was relatively simple, and, as could be ascertained from the behavior of the thug-like group, they were extremely proficient at exploiting the tyrannical rules of the Name Hunt Station...

Unaware of the danger they had just thrown themselves into, one of the Regulars attempted to approach Fenrir and Ryun with a metallic net in hand, shouting, "I ain't never had a dog bitch as a slave before! I wonder if-"

Before the man could finish his words, a spear of ice moving at several times the speed of sound pierced through his head in an instant. This left the man's nearby compatriots at a complete loss, their eyes widening to an almost comical extent. 'Unfortunately', this was their final expression as Fenrir, eyes emanating a violent and disdainful gleam, blew off each of their heads in turn as she muttered, "I am a Vanargandr..." in an icy tone.

With Fenrir eliminating the opportunistic enemies attempting to flank from behind, Mash was able to devastate the foes lining the front with surprising ferocity. It was like she was releasing all of the frustrations she had built up over the years, and, now that she had become a Vanargandr, fighting suddenly felt completely 'natural' to her.

Using her remarkably oversized gauntlets, Mash was about to bat aside enemies with extreme ease, her expression fixed in a mask of calm as her casual blows generated massive shockwaves. The only thing preventing her foes from being killed in an instant was a unique enchantment that had been placed on both of her shields, a peculiar ability simply known as 'Mercy Strike'.

Though the ability could be disabled under certain conditions, Mash's attacks didn't inflict direct physical damage to her opponents. Instead, the shockwaves generated by her fists, despite causing a tremendous amount of collateral damage, siphoned the physical, mental, and spiritual energies of her foes. In other words, her blows left her targets feeling extreme fatigue, and, depending on how serious she was, Mash could even force them into a coma that would require external aid in order to awaken from.

Because of the unique nature of her attacks, permeating throughout the entirety of a target's body, Mash could effectively ignore things like Elementalization. This left Hesse of the Ten Bosses feeling extremely frustrated, as, more often than not, even powerhouses from the Ten Great Families were unable to deal with the unique qualities of his body.

Under normal circumstances, Hesse could be broken down and destroyed countless times, and, so long as his personal field of Shinsu persisted, he could perpetually reform his soil-comprised body. It was a trait that left even the most skilled of opponents feeling at a complete loss, as, no matter how they cut, blew, or blasted him apart, he would simply reform, time and time again.

Hesse's only real weakness, for reasons he didn't fully understand, attacks infused with lightning, and, very specifically, the flames of the Yeon Family. The former prevented him from restructuring himself in a short period of time. As for the latter, it seemed to dry up the soil comprising his body, slowing or outright stopping his movements depending on the intensity of the heat.

Fortunately, so long as they weren't inordinately skilled in the use of said energies, Hesse was able to convince most foes that he was 'immune' to said effects. This was meant to demoralize his foes, and, thanks to the hardening effects of their attacks, he did actually become more durable over the duration of the fight...

Completely disregarding all of these factors, Mash continued to hammer on the 5m tall man as if he were a humanoid sandbag. He had attempted to trade blows with her, but, in spite of their massive size and weight difference, her strikes continuously sent him stumbling backward as the force of his blows seemed to dissipate into the ground. This was one of the major weaknesses of being larger than your opponent, as, after a certain point, the force of overhead blows became inconsequential due to things like leverage.

Though there were countless ways around it, striking downward with more force than your inertia would simply cause you to propel yourself into the air. This was one of the primary weaknesses of super strength, as, without adequate leverage, it was tricky to apply said strength without grabbing or pushing against your opponent. Even then, you needed to account for things like friction against the ground, and, more often than not, the durability of whatever you were standing on.

With durability that would allow her to survive tactical-grade magic at point-blank range, defeating Mash using raw physical power was extremely difficult. She had even mastered Galahad's defensive techniques, effectively allowing her to channel the force of an opponent's strike through the energy channels of her own body, directing it into the ground. This was an extremely dangerous technique to master, but, in exchange, even your organs would become resistant to sudden shocks. It also had an extreme influence on the tension and springiness of a person's muscles, specifically concentrated around the calves, thighs, and glutes...

Taking full advantage of her petite yet full figure, Mash, standing at only 162cm in height, continued to hammer away at Hesse with an unchanging expression. She didn't seem troubled by the fact that the latter was able to withstand several of her strikes. Instead, she remained absolutely calm, almost scary so, as she slipped under a haymaker blow before striking his diaphragm with enough force to send him tumbling backward for more than seventy meters.

Groaning due to the mind-numbingly frustrating 'tingle' that had spread through his entire body, similar to a limb falling asleep, Hesse raised his giant body with extreme difficulty, serrated teeth glistening with spittle and blood as he shouted, "What the fuck are you bastards waiting for...!?"

In response to Hesse's exclamation, the other three groups present, each belonging to a member of the Ten Bosses, began to stir about. Most of them had lost the will to fight after witnessing Fenrir's 'cruelty', and, if not for the contracts forcing them to obey their 'Masters', they would have fled long ago. As for said Masters, two were already considering withdrawing while the third, a 90cm tall cat-like person with black fur and a cross-shaped scar running across their forehead, unsheathed two dagger-like Ninjatō as they remarked, "Pathetic...how did you ever become one of the Ten Bosses? When this is over, I'm going to repurpose you as a litter box you damn dirt-man..."

Following this deriding remark, the cat-like man, better known as Nekogahara Katamune of the Ten Bosses, began to release a peculiar black Shinsu from his body as he murmured, "Katamune-Style Control Skill...Waning Moon...!"

Seeing the curiously inverted black crescent flying towards them, Vahn couldn't help raise his brows slightly as he questioned how someone far beneath the level of a Master could create such a shape while swinging their sword in a regular arc. It was actually a rather ingenious technique, as, unlike a traditional crescent sword beam, this one surrounded an enemy and cut off their path of escape...

While Vahn was reviewing the peculiarities of the technique within his mind, Jeanne had already stepped forward to intercept it, her blade releasing a pure white crescent that perfectly overlapped with the former, dispersing it like an illusion. This caused Katamune to sneer in contempt, his eyes releasing a malicious blue glow as he crossed his dagger-like swords behind his back and muttered, "Katamune-Style Control Skill...Inverse-Cross Slash...!"

Confident that he could cut through Jeanne's attack, Katamune made no attempt to dodge it as his Ninjatō converged towards the resplendent sword beam, each releasing a dark light. Unfortunately, he had grossly overestimated himself, and, without any suspense whatsoever, Jeanne's single blade of light cut through his C-Rank blades like a hot knife through butter before bisecting him in two at chest level.

Having expected the cat-like man to try and dodge, Jeanne couldn't help but furrow her brows in a fretful manner as she turned back to face her Master. In response, Vahn just gestured for her to stay calm, a relaxed smile on his face as he telepathically reminded her that he could always revive those who had fallen. Rumors regarding his ability to resurrect the dead had already been circulating for several months at this point, so, while he had no intention of going around and playing Saint, Vahn no longer cared about keeping it a secret.

Though she was greatly relieved by her Master's words, Jeanne didn't want to make any additional mistakes in the presence of her God. To that end, she promptly sheathed her sword before pointing her index and middle fingers towards the group of cowering Regulars, her tone flat and judgmental as she incanted, "Bakudo Number 1...Sai...!"

Following Jeanne's short incantation, several invisible beams of spiritual energy shot forth from her fingers, impacting her targets at near-light speeds. This caused the hands of the affected to open, their weapons clattering to the ground before their wrists were forcefully brought together behind their backs. This included those with more than two arms, and, should they lack the means to reach the small of their backs, those with bulkier figures found their joints painfully dislocated under the influence of the binding spell.

Surprised by Jeanne's use of Kido, Vahn raised his brows slightly, an amused smile spreading across his face as he remarked, "I hope Yoruichi isn't teaching you any bad habits..."

Hearing her Master's musings, the tips of Jeanne's ears became bright red as she attempted to use her brilliant golden wings to hide her face. This caused the former to issue a lighthearted laugh, but, at the same time, he was a little worried about Yoruichi's ever-increasing influence among the more impressionable women in his harem...

Shaking his head, Vahn cleared his mind of wayward thoughts before stepping forward to ruffle the hair of Fenrir and Ryun as he said, "Let's wrap this up..."

Though their first reaction was to instinctually press their heads against the palms of his hands, the eyes of Fenrir and Ryun shot open in response to his words. Immediately thereafter, midnight blue and dusk-red fur began to sprout across their rapidly metamorphosing bodies, each expanding to more than 10m in height and approximately 30m from their muzzles to the tips of their tails.

As could be expected, the appearance of two giant wolves was enough to shatter the resolutions of virtually everyone still present in the plaza. This was in spite of the fact that they appeared far more majestic than terrifying, each possessing sleek coats of fur and remarkably dignified features. Fenrir, in particular, resembled a literal God of Wolves due to the runic pattern glistening along the surface of her fur and at the center of her forehead. Her previously scarlet eyes had even changed to an icy blue color, a fierce intelligence seen glowing within as she released a naturally suppressive aura.

Since it was pretty hard to miss the emergence of two giant wolves, Mash adopted a slight pout as she glowered towards the still-conscious Hesse. This caused the latter to visibly shudder, his beady red eyes snapping from the two giant wolves to observe his former opponent. He abruptly felt as though he was standing on the edge of a blade, and, for a very brief moment, the lavender-haired woman glaring at him seemed like an untamed beast as her pupils suddenly contracted into thin, predatory, lines...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'I wonder if there is a Law of Small Fries that compels evil people to say stupid shit prior to their deaths...?','Mash has a very springy butt (O w O)...','I wonder if we'll ever meet the greatest of the Nekomata tribe, the legendary Nyanmoto Musashimi...!')

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