Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1879

Though she had yet to completely master the transformation, Mash was still able to transform into what was affectionately known as the ’puppy’ form. This made her appear equal parts adorable and ferocious, contrasting traits that left people feeling incredulous even when she was baring her ivory white fangs.

Not expecting his opponent to suddenly transform, Hesse took a moment to look between Mash and the two gigantic wolves towering behind her. Then, with a look of ’realization’ on his face, he adopted a severe expression as he asked, "What the fuck? Have I been fighting a brat this entire time...?"

With a surprisingly humanoid expression of disdain spreading across her face, Mash manipulated the shields hovering around her to flank her shoulders. Then, like a runaway train derailing into a station, she charged through Hesse at hypersonic speeds, startling the man as everything beneath his chest momentarily fragmented into countless debris. He had mistakenly believed she lacked the power to penetrate his defenses, so, for a brief moment, he was caught completely off guard by the reality of his current situation.

Manipulating the soil in an attempt to restructure himself, Hesse was surprised to realize that more than one-third of his total mass had simply ’vanished’. This caused his previously gigantic frame to shrink considerably, concern appearing within his beady red eyes for the first time since the fight had started. He wasn’t completely without cards to play, but, with two giant wolves standing behind him, he suddenly felt like a tiny mouse trapped in the corner by a cat...

While willfully reducing the firmness of his body, effectively turning it into loose soil, Hesse took a moment to glance over his shoulder and see how things were playing out on the larger battlefield. Unfortunately, his opponent didn’t take the bait. Instead, Mash adopted a slight glower on her face as her two shields transforming into two large cannons, each radiating a menacing blue glow from deep within their barrels.

Realizing that he had severely underestimated his opponent, a large amount of soil slouched off Hesse’s back as he charged forward with a loud roar escaping from his throat. If one were to look closely, they would see the color rapidly draining from his body, the moisture rapidly evaporating as his limbs momentarily became as hard as marble.

Completely ignoring the cast-off shell, Mash executed a masterful Shundo to intercept the slime-like ball of soil attempting to skulk away. This left Hesse feeling remarkably indignant, but, rather than continue lashing out, a ’terrified’ face formed within the soil, his voice reminiscent of gravel being tumbled as he said, "I surrender...please...spare me..."

Since she had no intention of killing the man, Mash just snorted through her snout before stamping her paws on the ground. This caused a magenta-colored magic circle to surround the clump of soil, the edges rising to form a hemispherical barrier that, in reality, extended into the ground to form a perfect sphere. Then, without sparing the sealed figure a second glance, she ran over to where her Master was waiting, eager to take advantage of her current form to receive his affection...

With Fenrir and Ryun taking the stage, it didn’t take long to completely suppress the Regulars who had gathered to witness what some referred to as ’baptizing noobies’. This included four of the so-called Ten Bosses, a rather pathetic group that was obviously attempting to emulate the Ten Great Families, effectively playing God among those weaker than themselves.

Having resurrected most of the deceased, Vahn gathered together everyone in the plaza, forcing them to kneel with their hands bound behind their backs as he stared down at the group of four forced to dogeza...

Restraining a sigh, Vahn listened as the Law of Identity went on to recount the various crimes of the people kneeling before him. A rather substantial number of them had been forced into this lifestyle, but, as could be expected, there were also a disheartening number of individuals who had willingly embraced life within the Name Hunt Station. After all, so long as you could place your palm against a person’s back for a mere ten seconds, you could steal their name, and, as a result, gain absolute authority over them...

With the exception of the Jahad name, even names belonging to members of the Ten Great Families could be stolen. Those with their names stolen could never leave the Name Hunt Station until they had either regained their name or stolen someone else’s. Since names possessed most of a person’s unique powers and abilities, people were forced to either live mundane existences where they were easily bullied or accept having their name bestowed by the person that had defeated them. This last part could be forced by the person who had originally captured their name, effectively placing them under the control of whoever had defeated them.

Though there were a number of methods to break the contract of the Name Hunt Station, most of these were in possession of the Ten Great Families. As a result, anyone who had their name stolen and returned effectively became the slave of whoever owned their name. Because of this, the names of certain individuals were auctioned off once a year to affluent Rankers, some belonging to the Ten Great Families while others represented the various organizations found throughout the Middle and Outer Towers.

Since a single command could turn someone into an obedient slave, preventing them from even taking their own lives, the Name Hunt Station had become a means for the Ten Great Families to deal with troublesome Regulars while bringing others under their control. In particular, the entire station had come under the control of the Lo Po Bia Family nearly a thousand years prior, and, as a result, they had made a fortune off ransoming the names of the Ten Great Families and selling off promising Regulars to various persons of interest.

Vahn disdained the very existence of the Name Hunt Station, but, without becoming the ’ruler’ of said station, even he couldn’t do anything to change the existing system. The rules of the profane Floor were some of the strictest in the entire Tower, and, even if they were among the top 500 High Rankers, anyone foolish enough to violate said rules would have their bodies crushed into pulp by the power of the Guardian.

Though he could survive having his body crushed a functionally infinite number of times, Vahn had little interest in antagonizing a Guardian. They were beings of order that acted in accordance with very stringent laws, so, while the existence of the Name Hunt Station could be credited to them, it was the efforts of others that had perverted it to such an extent. Thus, rather than arbitrarily kill the creature upholding the contract, he intended to act within the bounds of the current rules in order to take over and ultimately destroy the entire station.

With this in mind, the briefest hint of a smile could be seen on Vahn’s face as he said, "Raise your heads and listen closely..."

Fearing for their lives, the 107 Regulars who had been gathered in the plaza each raised their heads, palpable dread visible in their manifold eyes as they listened attentively to what their ’captor’ had to say.

Surprising everyone present, Vahn adopted an unnervingly calm smile as he gazed over the crowd and explained, "Under normal circumstances, more than a third of you would have already been put to death...you see, I have the ability to ascertain a person’s true thoughts in any given situation. As a result, I know how terrible some of you truly are..."

Passing his gaze over the four ’Bosses’, Vahn sent shivers down their spines as a judgmental golden flicker flashed across his eyes. He sincerely believed that each of them deserved to die, but, after his time in the Actualized World of Dog Days, combined with the time he spent in his Realm, his desire to kill had recently begun to fade away. He wanted to set a better example for his children, so, with people like Kenshiro pursuing a path where he refused to kill, he had a lot of things to think about in regard to his own actions...

Simply put, Vahn had already spared a considerable number of people, who, from the perspective of some, were beyond salvation. The most common recipients of this mercy were immortals, Gods, and Spirits, but, every now and then, he also made exceptions for beauties and those with resolute hearts that had been swayed to the path of evil by circumstance. This ’favoritism’ was something he had often reflected upon, so, while his reason told him that some were simply beyond salvation, a tiny voice in the back of his mind constantly reminded him that ’nothing was impossible’...

With this in mind, Vahn maintained his eerily calm smile as he went on to explain, "Fortunately for some...I have grown rather weary of killing. I’m also against things like slavery and imprisonment, so, from this moment onward, you are free to leave the Name Hunt Station. From now on, do your best to hold onto your freedom and live fulfilling lives without suppressing or exploiting others. I’ll not afford you a third chance, so, should you fail to heed my advice...well, you only have yourselves to blame..."

Similar to how he had dealt with Alosrin long ago, Vahn had left a little surprise in the bodies of each of the people he had deemed ’beyond salvation’. This was in the form of a curse that would actually help to strengthen their bodies if they made an earnest effort to improve and overcome their past selves. Inversely, their body would absorb the negative energy generated as a result of their actions, and, depending on the decisions they made, their energy network would gradually become unstable before ultimately self-destructing if they attempted to force themselves onto another or take advantage of those weaker than themselves.

Though his instincts told him that the vast majority of the people he let go would default to their usual habits, Vahn would be content if just a single one of them went on to improve their lives for the better. He only needed a single example of someone proving him wrong to change his entire outlook on things like repentance, and, depending on the situation, it might fundamentally alter how he dealt with future foes. Either way, he had grown tired of killing, so, while he might not be able to avoid doing so in the future, there was nothing barring him from resurrecting his enemies and attempting to set them on a better course...

Viewing the situation from an invisible panel that only she could see, a masked woman with long black hair cascading from her scalp and rolling down her military-style garb like a waterfall began to lightly tap her finger against the armrest of her inordinately large throne. Some might mistake this as frustration regarding the spontaneous departure of several hundred Unnamed Regulars, but, more than anything else, she was feeling anxious due to the existence of the three wolf-like women who had appeared alongside the man she had been tasked with crushing...

Noticing the masked woman’s distress, a secretarial figure with pale yellow hair and matching eyes adopted a slightly concerned look as she asked, "What are your orders, Lady Kaiser? At this rate, it won’t be long before that man makes his way to this chamber..."

Though it was impossible to make out her expression due to the eerie silver mask covering her face, a concerned glimmer flashed across Kaiser’s pale, Tosca-green, eyes as she contemplated the best course of action. Before she could, however, a pair of resonant giggles could be heard emanating from behind her throne as two girls, each appearing remarkably similar despite the stark contrast of their hair and eye colors, appeared to say, "Your orders remain unchanged. You will capture the man known as the Sage Dragon Emperor and present him to the Lo Po Bia Family. As for the rest, we will help you capture them. Who knows, he might actually have a thing for those dog bitches? If so, you might be able to seduce him if you waggle your tail like an obedient little slut~."

Ignoring the words of the yellow-haired woman with glowing cyan eyes, Kaiser gestured at the seemingly empty air, dismissing the invisible panel before rising from her throne and making her way towards the exit. This earned her another round of giggling, but, even after she had completely exited the room, she didn’t utter so much as a single syllable...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Mash ain’t nobody’s fool...!’,’Vahn be like, "Git..."’,’Someones, plural, needs a spanking...’)