Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1785

Though she really hated being told what to do, Endorsi had been trying her best to get along with the rest of Team Wolf Pack. She knew that her status as a Princess of Jahad would likely be revoked at some point in the next couple of years; so, rather than continue clinging to something she never really cared about, she was doing her best to, slowly but surely, change.

Unfortunately, three-hundred-years of living a very specific lifestyle made it difficult to change in a short period of time. This often left her feeling frustrated, not because she wanted to change more quickly, but because people didn't seem to recognize that she was trying. She wanted more people to acknowledge her efforts and tell her she was doing a good job. Instead, just to avoid having her cause a scene, Khun asked her to go out and perform reconnaissance...

With a vexed expression on her face, Endorsi chewed on her thumbnail, muttering, "You better not be getting lovey-dovey with those clingy brats..." while Shibisu and Aleksai stood helplessly at the side. The former had been trying to explain his plan for baiting out a response from the Lo Po Bia Faction, but, almost as if she had a sixth-sense related to Gandr, Endorsi grew irritable around the same time that the former returned to the House of Miracles.

Realizing they might not be able to make any progress today, Shibisu was considering having them turn around when a man with pale skin, pale-pink hair, and mouse-like ears suddenly appeared to block their path. At the same time, a bunch of other thug-like Regulars with the features of various animals quickly encircled them, many with weapons at the ready.

Despite being known for their enhanced perception and animal instincts, the man with pale-pink hair seemed completely oblivious to the fact he had stepped on a landmine, barring his fangs as he asked, "What have we here? A pack of mangy dogs who have strayed too far from their kennel? Do you think you can just freely walk around our territory like this, you F-Class Plebians!?"

Though Team Wolf Pack had more than enough income to purchase additional B-Class Citizenships, it was a lot easier for everyone to remain F~E-Class due to the latter's ability to move freely through Paradise Bay. The only downside was that they risked being penalized for acting against High-Class Citizens. Fortunately, no matter how corrupt things seemed within Paradise Bay, the Administration couldn't just create a rule that allowed certain Regulars to kill with impunity.

So long as they were acting in self-defense, meaning the other party had attacked first, even F-Class Citizens could get away with murder. After all, while there wasn't a penalty for attacking Regulars of a lower class, there were no rules preventing them from retaliating. Thus, if you ended up biting off more than you could chew, antagonizing people you shouldn't, you only had yourself to blame.

Unfortunately, Endorsi wasn't the most level-headed person, so, the moment she heard the man's insult, a tick mark appeared on her head as she balled her hand into a fist and shouted, "Who the fuck do you think you are!? You dare call a Princess of Jahad a Plebian!? Do you want to fucking die you mousy bitch!?"

Surprised by the violent woman's outburst, the pink-haired man took a few steps back, paling more than a little as he stammered, "S-S-So what!? E-Even a P-P-Princess of Jahad needs to f-f-follow the rules! B-B-Besides! I was talking to those two! Not you!"

Since it could become a 'very' big issue if it was discovered that a member of the Ten Great Families had referred to a Princess of Jahad as a 'plebian', the man, Lo Po Bia Hakua, couldn't help but feel a little trepidatious after Endorsi's outburst. He might not get in trouble for killing her, as that would just prove she lacked the qualifications of a Princess, but openly insulting her while she still held the title could get him in a lot of trouble...

Shifting her attention away from the mousy man, Endorsi glanced in the direction of Aleksai and Shibisu before passing her glare over everyone currently encircling them. Then, with a haughty and venomous tone, she glared back at Lo Po Bia Hakua and asked, "You honestly believe you have any right to insult my teammates? You're just some stray rat playing at being important on one of the lowest Floors of the Tower. Just look at how many people you brought to try and intimidate us. You clearly don't have the balls to actually attack, so why don't you just run along before you embarrass yourself further? Go on. Get out of here. Shoo. Shoo."

Though she would have normally charged the man directly, Endorsi had received a private message from Gandr shortly after they had been surrounded. This alerted her to the fact that he was either in control of Khun's Lighthouse or directly observing them from somewhere. She really didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Gandr, so, after remembering the reason for their visit to the Lo Po Bia District, Endorsi decided to bait the other party into attacking.

Angered by Endorsi calling him a 'stray rat', Lo Po Bia Hakua's expression darkened considerably as he held his hand out to the side and uttered, "Reel Inventory, Visible Mode...". This caused a purple crescent with several weapons to appear, one of which was an inordinately beautiful silver Needle with several runes inscribed around the handle.

Noticing the quality of the weapon, Endorsi's brows raised slightly as she remarked, "You must have been on this Floor for quite some time. Tell me, how many weak Regulars did you need to bully just to obtain that weapon? Does it make you feel powerful~?"

Snorting through his nose, Hakua pointed his Needle towards Endorsi as he said, "I'm not afraid of you just because you're a Princess of Jahad...since your group went out of your way to cause chaos within Paradise Bay, don't blame me for what happens next...capture the two weaklings! I'll keep the Princess busy...!"

Returning a snort of her own, Endorsi pulled out a miniatured needle from her vest pocket as she retorted, "Trying to take hostages? It seems the Lo Po Bia Family has really fallen these days..."

Though he was even more incensed, Hakua actually leaped away from Endorsi, his silver Needle glowing with a spiraling pattern as he shouted, "Let's see how long your bravado lasts when you become our hostage...!"

Following Hakua's outburst, a meter-wide pillar of Shinsu erupted from the tip of his Needle like water from a broken dam. This attack was headed straight for Shibisu and his own allies, but, long before it was able to land, Endorsi's disc-like shield manifested to block it. At the same time, several tears appeared in the fabric around her calves and thighs, the result of supercharging her muscles with Shinsu and forcibly activating a very crude variation of Shundo.

Despite her inability to execute the technique properly, Hakua's eyes became full circles as Endorsi appeared right in front of him with a vicious smile. Then, before he could recover and try to defend himself, the Needle in her right hand pierced into his left shoulder as her left hand gripped his right wrist like a vice. This was more than enough to end the fight, but, seemingly dissatisfied with simply defeating him, Endorsi yanked his right arm with overwhelming strength, dislocating it and causing an excruciatingly painful tear to occur around his shoulder.

Hearing the pig-like squeal of their boss, the remaining thugs paled as they watched Endorsi spin Hakua around by his dislocated arm before tossing him toward the ground with meteoric force. To make matters even worse, she had seized the silver Needle for herself, a demonic smile spreading across her face as she landed atop Hakua's unconscious body and said, "You guys really messed up this time. Still, I'm a magnanimous woman. Drop your weapons and break one of your arms. If you do that, I'll pretend like this incident never happened. If you refuse...well, you only have yourselves to blame for what happens next~."

Though they were extremely apprehensive about obeying Endorsi's command, the broken body of their boss served as an effective example of what might happen if they refuse. Fortunately, before anyone could follow through on her order, Shibisu stepped in, hands raised in a placating gesture as he said, "That's enough, Endorsi. We're not the bad guys here. It's one thing to injure them when they are attacking us. Forcing them to cripple themselves is just excessive. Besides, you already got yourself a weapon produced by the Workshop. Let's just return to the House of Miracles. Khun and Gandr can handle the rest..."

Frowning in response to Shibisu's words, Endorsi was about to call him an idiot when a gentle ping emanated from her Pocket. It was possible to register different notifications for each of the people on your contact list so she already knew who the message was from before turning her head. As a result, her frown immediately faded away as she looked over to see the words, 'Let them go.' from Gandr. This made her feel slightly exasperated, but, not wanting to disappoint her fluffy-eared hug pillow, Endorsi just placed her newly acquired Needle into her Reel Inventory as she said, "Fine. I'll let them go with just a warning. Just don't expect me to go easy on them the next time they pull a stunt like this."

With those words, Endorsi kicked the unconscious body of Hakua towards a girl with cat-like ears, startling her quite a bit. Then, after using her [REquip] system to swap out her tattered tights for a fresh pair, she looked around at the crowd, glowering as she asked, "What the hell are you waiting for? Get the hell out of here!"

Fearing the repercussions of sticking around even a moment longer, several members of the Lo Po Bia Faction immediately bolted in response to Endorsi's exclamation. Only a few of the most loyal amongst them helped to carry Hakua's body, their expressions paling as they saw how stretched and bloody his right arm had become...

After watching the final few members run off with their tails between their legs, Endorsi turned her attention towards Shibisu and Aleksai. The former had a wry smile on his face, and, though he was just as expressionless as usual, Aleksai's complexion had paled noticeably. This made Endorsi feel a little uneasy, her expression souring as she asked, "What's wrong with the two of you? I didn't do anything wrong. In fact, shouldn't you be thanking me? If I didn't take decisive action, those jerks would have captured you in a heartbeat...!"

Though they were certainly outnumbered, Shibisu's and Aleksai's training hadn't been for naught. They had grown quite a bit over the last few months, so, while they might have struggled, saying they would be captured quickly was an exaggeration. Despite this, Shibisu did his best to appear grateful, saying, "You're right...thanks for the help..." in a dry tone. He was well aware of Endorsi's 'need' to receive praise and be absolved from guilt; so, rather than exacerbate things by trying to explain what she had done wrong, he would just let Phae, Gandr, and Morgiana to deal with her...

Seeing things wrap up without further incident, Gandr released a relieved sigh as he slouched in the chair that was normally occupied by Khun. This allowed him to stare up at the white-haired woman who had been standing behind him, her silver eyes showing very little emotion as she remarked, "I don't understand what you see in that woman...she is needlessly violent and lacks even a semblance of elegance..."

Deadpanning in response to the woman's words, Gandr plainly remarked, "Looming over people's shoulder and talking about others behind their back isn't exactly elegant behavior either..."

Unable to offer a rebuttal to Gandr's statement, Serra frowned slightly without saying a single word in response. This made her appear a little cute, and, for a brief moment, Gandr was almost tempted to tease her a bit. Before he could, however, a familiar scampering could be heard from outside the door before it was kicked open by a petite girl with twin-tails who promptly exclaimed, "Gan-chan! I'm all better now! Let's fight~!"

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Endorsi has no chill','Shibisu be like, "Not my problem..."','Gandr's struggles are only just beginning~')