Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Though there was a brief moment of hesitation before she took action, Elaine was ultimately able to show why she, of all people, had been selected to rule the Name Hunt Station. She had never been the type to simply 'give up' when her convictions had been questioned, as, even now, the two most important things to her were protecting her family and redeeming herself in the eyes of the people who had once supported her.

After quickly confirming the condition of her weapons and other armaments, Kaiser unsheathed a silvery rapier that glistened with a pale green glow. Then, rather than attempting to overwhelm him with ranged attacks, she charged in with a surprising burst of speed, rapier tracing a difficult to read trajectory that ultimately culminated in a thrust to Vahn's throat.

Similar to when he had been evading the Needles, Vahn simply tilted his head a little to the left, his foot sliding forward at a slight angle that allowed him to shift his weight enough to deftly evade the rapier's point. At the same time, his right hand traced the length of the blade before coming to rest on the hemispherical guard protecting Elaine's hand.

Unlike Inieta, Elaine didn't hesitate for a single moment before abandoning her rapier and pulling out a scimitar-like shortsword from her Arms Inventory. This tempted Vahn to use the rapier he had just acquired to deflect the attack, but, knowing it would only make Laev-tan pout, he ended up just taking a few steps backward, his body seemingly glitching in and out of reality as he evaded Elaine's blitzing blows.

Realizing her speed was lacking compared to her opponent's, Elaine began to increase the amount of Shinsu contained within the muscles. This caused aquamarine bands of electricity to dance across her body, and, much like when Endorsi and Anak pushed themselves far beyond their limits, several tears started to appear in Elaine's sheer black tights as parts of her outfit started disintegrating due to the violent energy she was releasing.

Resisting the urge the roll his eyes and shake his head, largely due to the fact his own clothes had a habit of dissolving, Vahn thrust his hand in Elaine's direction, compressing the Shinsu between them to form a wall of pressure that sent her smashing through one of the Grand Gallery's massive pillars.

Though she felt as though a Suspend Ship had just crashed into her at high speeds, Elaine was able to avoid sustaining any severe injuries due to strengthening her body with Shinsu. Despite this, she made no attempt to pull herself from the rubble. Instead, she used the moment of 'reprieve' to try and organize her thoughts, mind racing in an attempt to come up with a method of defeating her foe.

Unfortunately, by the time she was ready to jump back into the fray, Elaine nearly fell face-first into the ground when she saw the rapidly increasing number of golden Baangs orbiting around Vahn. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and, to make matters even worse, she could feel the Shinsu in the surroundings rapidly dissipating. Once it had vanished completely, she would no longer have the means to protect herself, as, despite the boons she had received over the years, she had never been provided an ignition weapon.

In a desperate attempt to prevent Vahn from absorbing all the Shinsu in the surroundings, Elaine strained her body far beyond its limits, blood erupting from various muscle groups as she charged forward like a pale-green meteor. At the exact same moment, a phantom figure burst free from the void behind Vahn, it's form resembling a ghostly grey wolf with fierce golden eyes.

Ignoring the wolf entirely, Vahn used his open palm to intercept the spiraling green vortex at the tip of Elaine's attack, dissipating it in an instant. This allowed the ghostly grey wolf to sink its teeth into his left leg, and, due to the unique properties of its saliva, a glimmer of excitement could be seen in Elaine's eyes as she attempted to kick against his body to gain some distance.

Moving significantly faster, Vahn grabbed Elaine's proffered ankle before her foot could even make contact with his body. She responded to this by trying to manifest her Armor Inventory, but, before she could get the plates under control, Vahn had already pivoted on his heel, twisting his body with extreme speed as he flung her sprawling body like a ragdoll.

Though her Armor Inventory sped over to try and cushion her fall, Elaine's body ultimately crashed into the exceedingly durable wall for a second time. This time, however, she was embedded directly into the wall, her arms and legs splayed out as the protective plates formed a protective membrane to try and shield her from any subsequent attacks.

Deciding to afford Elaine the opportunity to consider her surrender, Vahn shifted his attention to the ghostly wolf that continued to gnaw at his ankle and calf. He actually felt a strange connection between him and the noble-looking creature, and, though its name was marginally different, Vahn couldn't help but crack a smile when the Law of Identity revealed that its name to be Fenryl.

Ignoring the fact that it was persistently trying to tear his leg apart, Vahn bent down to caress the ghostly wolf's ethereal fur as he said, "Fenrir is going to get a kick out of you..." in an amused tone. This resulted in Fenryl attempting to bite at his hand, but, rather than evade, Vahn just chuckled as he used his free hand to scratch behind its ears...

---

Feeling a strange 'fluttering' in her chest, Elaine emerged from her momentary unconsciousness with a start, eyes wide as she found herself in a world of darkness. Fortunately, this was merely the result of her Armor Inventory covering her body, so, after a brief moment of panic, she was able to calm down enough to realize the pain she was in. It felt like every bone in her body was crying out in protest, and, for the first time in nearly eight-hundred-years, she felt a sudden and intense urge to join them...

Suppressing the urge to tear up, Elaine took a few deep breaths to steady her mind as she used her internal reserves to mend her broken body. At the same time, she began to think about the reasons behind Vahn's actions. If it were another monstrous Regular, she would have assumed he was just tormenting her for the hell of it, but, unlike a typical sadist, Vahn didn't seem to derive any pleasure from his actions. Instead, his mood seemed to become more depressive as the fight continued...

Realizing that Vahn might be attempting to 'tame' or 'help' her, a wave of frustration permeated through Elaine's body as she clenched her teeth in indignation. The former wasn't that bad, as it was simply the 'privilege of the strong'. The latter, however, was something she couldn't stand, as, regardless of what she had gone through, she refused to accept someone's pity.

Though her body was far from fully healed, Elaine manipulated her Armor Inventory aside as she extricated herself from the wall with a pained but resolute grunt. Even if she had to die a hundred times, she was determined to land at least one blow against Vahn before going down for good. He would never break-

Just as she was beginning to form her resolution, Elaine's mind blanked as she saw an absolutely incomprehensible scene playing out before her...

Unlike a normal Anima, Elaine had inherited an inordinately rare trait that appeared only once every thousand or so years within the Grey Wolf Family. This was the origin of her phantom Shinhueh, the 'Legendary Wolf Spirit, Fenryl'.

Though it was classified as a Shinheuh, Fenryl was not a real living creature. Instead, it was the form her Shinsu took once she had learned about Qualities. In other words, it didn't require a Bowl, and, so long as there was Shinsu in the surroundings, Fenryl was effectively immortal. It could be 'killed' any number of times, but, much like mist being scattered, it would invariably reform and continue attacking her opponents. This, combined with the fact that its bite inflicted wounds that only healed with her consent had allowed Elaine to become one of the strongest members of her generation...

Simply put, Fenryl was an intrinsic part of Elaine's very being, and, even if you searched throughout the entire Tower, you would never find another. This made it 'impossible' to tame, as, unlike normal Shinheuh, it simply didn't exist as a biological organism. Unfortunately for both Elaine and common sense, Vahn didn't call himself the 'God of Infinite Possibilities' just to sound cool. Thus, without any consideration for either, he could currently be seen seated on the ground, nonchalantly smiling as he stroked the panting Fenryl's exposed underbelly...

Sensing its Master's thoughts, Fenryl seemingly came back to its senses in an instant, flipping its body upright before attempting to tear out Vahn's throat. In response, the latter just opened his arms like someone about the initiate a hug, an awkward chuckle emanating from his throat as he wrapped Fenryl in his embrace and mused, "I'm afraid that doesn't work on me..." while digging his fingers into the former's dense fur.

Though it was well aware of the fact its attacks had no effect, Fenryl didn't release Vahn's throat from its maw. Instead, it attempted to crush his windpipe, but, no matter how tightly it clenched its jaws, Vahn's skin didn't even indent. It was a phenomenon that made absolutely no sense, almost as if nothing happening had any effect on him whatsoever...

With Fenryl's teeth unable to find any purchase, the wolf spirit ultimately fell away from his body as Vahn rose to his feet and began wiping away the drool from his neck with a hand towel. This caused Fenryl to try and bite at his ankle, but, without paying it any mind, Vahn directed his attention to the stunned Elaine, asking, "Ready for round three, or would you like me to heal your body first?"

Coming back to her sense in response to Vahn's words, Elaine's expression hardened as she pulled out two swords and said, "I don't know what your aim-"

Cutting her off before she could finish, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh before saying, "You know exactly what my aim is. I literally explained it to you before our fight began. My only goal here is to destroy the Name Hunt Station and erase its influence from the Tower. This requires me to either defeat or kill you. Since I have no desire to do the latter, everything happening right now is a direct result of your obstinancy and your unwillingness to believe that the people using you always had the intent to do so. They took advantage of your natural instincts, pitting you against someone much stronger in an attempt to forcibly sway your heart. The only way you could have avoided that situation was by completely ignoring your instincts, something that is impossible for a girl who spent her entire life being pampered and praised by others. You were set up to fail from the very beginning,..."

Though she wasn't sure why she had waited, Elaine allowed Vahn to finish speaking before charging at him with tears streaming from her eyes. This time, however, the latter made no attempt to dodge her attacks. Instead, he just stood there like an immovable statue, sympathy visible in his gaze even as Elaine attempted to skewer his eye with the tips of her swords. Unfortunately, even this couldn't phase the current him, and, though it took a considerable amount of effort to suppress the urge to blink, Vahn managed to appear unperturbed as the point of Elaine's sword deflected off his sclera.

Despite the apparent futility of her actions, Elaine didn't stop swinging her swords at Vahn even as blood began to pool from the edges of her elbow-length gloves. Even the breaking and bending of the blades weren't enough to deter her. Instead, she just tossed them to the side before procuring a new set from her Arms Inventory and releasing a feral scream filled with the pain and anguish of someone who had suffered futilely for more than a thousand years...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Vahn be like, "I'm fast a fuck boiii~!"','Don't worry, Common Sense-chan is a Masochist (O w O)...','Release...')

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