Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1908

Demonstrating that he wasn't known as one of the Great Warriors without reason, Eduan had little difficulty evading Alpha, the oldest of Laev-tan's sister swords. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of trying to attack Vahn directly, and, though he had taken measures to both protect and enhance his body with Shinsu, contact with the obsidian plates caused the lightning around his fist to fizzle out as the flesh coating his knuckles quickly dissolved.

Understanding that any assistance would further incense Eduan, a condescending mask developed across Vahn's face as he explained, "This armor is forged from the Laws of Destruction, Space, and Fire. Without a proper understanding of the Laws at play, your only hope is to use elemental energy that counteracts my armor's properties."

Gritting his teeth in response to Vahn's words, Eduan's figure practically vanished in an instant as he stepped backward at the speed of lightning. This allowed him to create a distance of nearly 100km in an instant, his expression showing severity and excitement as he ignored the pain from his hand and began gathering a monumental amount of Shinsu. He was a little concerned about the fact that his hand wasn't healing, but, regardless of the outcome of the battle, he intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

Believing that Vahn could easily see him, largely due to the fact that a vibrant beam of red light was already zeroing in on him, Eduan cracked a smile as he said, "Let's see how tough you really are!" as a physical spear of lightning more than 30m in length formed in his left hand. This was an advanced form of Shinsu Control that allowed the user to actualize their Quality, something even the average High Ranker would struggle with. Considering this version of Khun Eduan was technically a D-Rank Regular, it was a demonstration that would have shaken the Tower if he was born in the current era.

Flourishing the spear, known throughout the Tower as the 'spear higher than the tallest mountain', Eduan easily deflected the approaching Alpha with little effort. This motion caused the atmosphere for hundreds of meters to instantaneously ionize, and, as a result, massive storm clouds began to gather in the area as tempestuous winds began to devastate the land below.

With his body now completely shrouded in lightning, Eduan's electric-blue irises began shifting to an eerie purple hue as he took aim with his spear and monotonously incanted, "Khun Eduan Style Javelin-Throw Skill - Spear Higher Than The Tallest Mountain: Montana Azul...!"

As if empowered by his voice, the inordinately long spear began to generate massive bands of blue lightning, almost like a reverse lightning rod. At the same time, the distance between him and Vahn seemed to shrink as Space distorted in a manner that resembled a 'zooming' effect. Then, traveling at a speed that made light seem stagnant, the spear created a rippling black vortex in its wake as it instantaneously impacted Vahn's chest.

Though it wasn't the result he desired, Eduan managed to surprise Vahn quite a bit by successfully cracking his breastplate. He had underestimated Eduan's title as the 'God of Spears', and, though it shouldn't have mattered much due to the difference in their understanding, the former's lightning was actually one of the few counters to Laev-tan's effects.

Tracing his fingers over the quickly receding cracks, Vahn's mind began to clear up as he recalled that, despite his appearance, this version of Eduan should have been hundreds of years old by the time his data was created. Since then, more than ten-thousand-years had passed, so, while it was impossible for Data Humans to increase their parameters, it provided him with ample opportunity to advance his understanding of various Laws.

With all signs of damage having vanished in under three seconds, Vahn lightly pat the area over his heart, not to express relief, but to comfort Laev-tan. She was upset by the fact she had allowed the energy from Eduan's attack to penetrate his body, and, as a result, several sections of her armor had started to glow as her anger continued to rise. This was one of the greatest limitations of his Bankai, as, rather than cutting loose, Vahn had to remain calm and in control just to prevent Laev-tan and her siblings from rampaging...

Fortunately, while it placed an absurd burden on his mental and spiritual energies, the volume of Vahn's functionally limitless reserves had effectively increased by more than a hundred times. As a result, his domain expanded to cover more than a hundred kilometers as the potency of his aura increased to the point that most lower-tiered beings couldn't even perceive it. This included Eduan, and, as could be expected, the Hidden Floor itself.

Ignoring the sudden error messages that were beginning to appear in the vicinity, Vahn decided to amp things up a bit by extending his right hand. In response, the remaining twenty-three Laevatein-like blades surged forward, each resembling homing missiles as they created long red trails on their path towards the smiling Eduan.

Believing he had successfully angered Vahn, Eduan began to dance around the flaming swords with remarkable finesse as dozens of Baangs began to form around him. These ultimately became laser-like beams of lightning-infused Shinsu, each formed with the intent to either destroy or disable one of the Laevatein siblings. Unfortunately for him, they were a little more difficult to deal with than a stationary target, and, though their individual mastery was far from Vahn's, each of the Laevatein's possessed a limited mastery over Sword Laws.

Seeing his attacks cut through and deflected, Eduan's smile became noticeably cramped as one of the Laevateinn's, Rho, burned a part of his inordinately long ponytail. He had always taken pride in the appearance and texture of his hair, so, while it wasn't enough to make him completely lose his cool, the spear-like tattoo on his arm emitted a phenomenal amount of lightning as he attempted to grasp Rho's hilt.

Though it wasn't one of his better-known traits, Eduan possessed the ability to dominate anything his right hand touched. He rarely made use of it, but, whenever there was something he wanted to possess, be it legendary weapons, artifacts, or even women, there were few things that could stop him from forcibly seizing it. This was largely due to the fact that his right arm was host to one of the most powerful weapons from his former world, a legendary spear said to have once belonged to a tyrannical King of Gods, the 'Origin of Lightning'.

Grasping Rho's hilt, Eduan wanted nothing more than to use the blade to pierce Vahn's chest and demonstrate why he should never underestimate his foes. Unfortunately, this was never meant to be, as, the moment he attempted to forcibly seize Rho, a massive rupture appeared along his arm as his meridians literally exploded. This made his arm resemble gristle, and, though it was only a copy of the original, the Origin of Lightning within caused the wound to quickly cauterize as thick bands of uncontrollable lightning devasted both his body and the surroundings.

Seeing Eduan effectively self-destruct, Vahn couldn't help but exhale a tired sigh as he shook his head and remarked, "Trying to steal a Zanpakuto produced by the Bankai of a Tier 5...I can't even imagine something more foolish..."

Though he hadn't heard Vahn's remark, Eduan wasn't going to simply stand by and let himself be destroyed by his own attack. Instead, he ripped off his own arm without hesitation before surging forward with explosive velocity, effectively teleporting in front of Vahn to use the dismembered and highly destructive limb like a club.

Frowning in response to Eduan's frenzied assault, Vahn anchored himself using the surrounding space as the lightning from the former's detached limb danced across his body. This caused the glossy black surface of Laev-tan to rapidly heat up, the exterior turning white-hot as cracks began to form across the thinner plates.

Clicking his tongue, Vahn decided this wasn't the time to be obstinate. He was determined to stay in place, but, rather than simply taking a beating, he released an unstoppable pulse of energy from his body, arms spread wide as he called out, "Mjol-chan! Raiko...!"

In response to Vahn's call, two hammers, one resembling a comically oversized runestone while the other was indistinguishable from a giant drum, spun rather excitedly towards him. These were his attempts at reproducing the legendary hammer of Thor and the Storm Drums of Raijin, two of the most powerful Gods of Thunder and Lightning to ever exist.

Bringing the two together, effectively slamming Mjol-chan into the drumhead of Raiko, Vahn was able to disperse the entirety of Eduan's rampant lightning. Then, as his pride prevented him from moving from his current position, he hurled the 3,000,000kg stone hammer towards Eduan like a meteor before releasing Raiko's white-hot handle and saying, "Seal his lightning." in a decisive yet slightly apologetic tone.

As Mjol-chan impacted the ground with enough force to send a shockwave rippling for dozens of kilometers, lightning emanating from Raiko's body quickly took the shape of a young girl with pale blonde hair, elf-like ears, and radiant golden irises. As for her clothes, her outfit consisted of an off-white dress, knee-length purple boots, a red sash that defied gravity, and, as could be expected, a ring adorned with lightning-formed drums. If not for the fact she resembled an eight-year-old, she could have been mistaken for a younger version of Ureko, complete with a vibrant yet excessively violent personality...

Grabbing the giant hammer that was her true body, Raiko began to smack it against the air as if the latter had a physical form. Each blow caused the sound reminiscent of a drum infused with thunder to echo for several hundreds of kilometers as the rampant lightning produced by Eduan began to vanish without a trace. Instead, the drums behind Raiko began to glow with an increasingly vibrant light as she absorbed all the lightning elemental energy from the surroundings into herself.

Understanding that the others would be upset if he didn't give them the chance to run wild, Vahn allowed his reserves of mental and spiritual energy to drain, a wry smile developing across his face as he said, "Don't kill him. If any of you decide to ignore my warning, expect no maintenance for the next three weeks..."

In response to Vahn's words of warning, each of the 138 weapons comprising his Bankai promptly manifested spiritual forms perfectly capable of wielding themselves. Unfortunately, for reasons he simply couldn't fathom, the oldest among them resembled a young girl of around fourteen. As for the rest, they looked like a bunch of elementary and middle-schoolers wielding comically oversized weapons. This was the final and most prominent reason behind his reluctance to use Bankai, as, not only did Laev-tan make him resemble an Evil God, but his ultimate attack was effectively an army of rampaging children...

Fortunately, only a small handful of the Little Garden's residents knew the truth, and, while it might cause a few problems in the near future, Vahn didn't care whether or not Eduan's data knew of his secret. This was a good opportunity to let his little rascals run wild, and, in a way, it allowed him to practice observing others and intervening when he considered it necessary. These might not seem like important skills to master, but, if he wished to let others fight alongside him, these two abilities were of paramount importance.

Unfortunately for Eduan, he was the first true opponent of the discordant group of 'lolis', so, while they did their best to hold back, their combined assault was comparable to a group of High Rankers toying with their foe. Eduan did his best to fight back, but, with each of the lively spirits possessing immaterial bodies, the majority of his attacks were completely useless. This, combined with the fact that his abilities were effectively sealed by the combined effects of numerous Zanpakutos relegated him to the role of a punching bag for the better part of three hours...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Never look down on a skilled opponent that has lived for tens of thousands of years...','Eduan is pretty feisty...','This might just be the most 'bruh' of moments...')