Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

Chapter 2208: Force of Will

Like an animal sensing the onset of a natural disaster, Kale ceased her assault on the planet below as she shifted her attention to the approaching tide of Yokai. Her eye, which had previously gone out of focus, promptly became crystal clear and razor-sharp as she released Caulifla from her hold and said, "It's dangerous..." in an increasingly husky tone.

Due to her close proximity to Kale's chaotic energy, Caulifla didn't immediately notice the army of demonic creatures approaching them. She had been fully focused on preserving her Ki and resting her mind, so, hearing Kale's words, she raised her face from the latter's breasts and remarked, "It's about time. I was starting to get bored."

Ignoring the fact Kale had said it was dangerous, Caulifla began rolling her right arm and shoulder as she marveled at the sight of hundreds of inhuman monstrosities. In the process, her gaze briefly met Shuten's, and, as a result, a distinct, tingling sensation ran up her spine as the reddish-pink fur across her body stood on end.

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"Hot damn. If that one isn't the leader, I'll eat my left shoe."

Following her words, Caulifla formed her right hand into a claw as she began to gather energy from the surrounding environment. Before she could release it, however, Kale grasped her shoulder with her oversized hand, saying, "No. My turn..."

Turning her head, Caulifla gave the two-and-a-half-meter tall Saiyaness a disbelieving look as she resisted the urge to tell her to piss off. The only time Kale stepped in to prevent her from fighting was when the opponent was legitimately dangerous. This normally wasn't enough to deter Caulifla from fighting, but, seeing the uncharacteristically serious expression on her companion's face, she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Give 'em hell."

Nodding her head, Kale released Caulifla's shoulder before floating toward the approaching army of Yokai at a slow and intimidating pace. Her height ended up leveling out around 275cm, but, as if there were no limits to the amount of energy she could tap into, the ruby-red fur covering her body began to exude a radiant glow as sections of the ground began to break away. The density of her Ki was so great that the effective mass of her body began to compete with the entire planet.

Sensing the energy exuding from Kale's body, the smile on Shuten's face turned into a toothy grin that threatened to tear at his face. A very similar expression could be seen on the gourd strapped to his waist, a massive container nearly two meters in length and more than a meter in diameter at its widest point.

Grabbing said gourd, Shuten tucked it under his left arm before directing the mouth towards Kale. At the same time, the muscles of his right arm began to bulge as the color of his arm transitioned from a pale, ghastly white to a carmine red. Accompanying this, the nails on his right hand grew in length until they could compete with shortswords in both form and function.

Sweeping his clawed hand in an arcing motion, the clouds of blood and gore that had gathered in the wake of Shuten's march surged forward like a tsunami. The Yokai comprising his Night Parade immediately became frenzied, their forms bulging and twisting as the same carmine coloration in Shuten's arm spread through their ranks.

Undaunted by the sight of a veritable wall of flesh and blood surging toward her, the muscles of Kale's body swelled to an almost ludicrous extent as she charged forward and released a mighty, heaven-shaking roar. Then, just as the various cameras captured the image of her leaning forward, the light exuding from her fur appeared to explode outward as her form disappeared from view. In its place, a ruby-red streak could be seen piercing through the ranks of the Yokai army as a massive ripple could be seen surging across the invisible barrier surrounding the planet.

Treating said barrier as a trampoline, Kale rebounded towards the Night Parade with even greater force than her initial charge, a maneuver that had effectively 'erased' more than a dozen frenzied Yokai from existence. An effeminate man wearing a red kimono and a wedding veil attempted to intercept her, but, the moment his personal gourd surged forward to try and bite Kale's shoulder, the latter smashed it away with a backhand before rewarding the surprised Oni with a meteoric lariat.

With more than enough force to level a planet from her Universe, Kale smashed her would-be attacker into the ground. Had the cameras been zoomed out, the spectators would have been able to witness the planet shifting several hundred meters as an explosive shockwave reminiscent of an extinction-level event rippled across the surface of the planet.

Covering her face and body with her arms, Caulifla was barely able to prevent herself from being swept away as much of the atmosphere was burned away by Kale's attack. Fortunately, part of her training had focused on converting Ki into the vital energy necessary to sustain biological functions, so, even if she was punched into space, Caulifla could survive for months on end without having to worry about food or water. Radiation was still an issue, but, so long as she made use of her [REquip] System and avoided flying around completely naked, it wasn't something she had to worry about.

In an effort to clear away some of the dust that now filled the atmosphere, Caulifla released a series of pulses from her body. At the same time, a fiery pink aura covered her from head to toe as each and every one of her cells generated their own microscopic layer of Ki.

Observing the planet below, Caulifla was unsurprised to find that all the land for hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers had simply been annihilated. Kale's attack had forced a large section of the planet's crust into the mantle. As a result, much of the planet's surface had been turned into a fiery, hellscape. From an outsider's point of view, it was like someone had torn away a large chunk of the planet.

"That woman seriously needs to learn how to hold back..."

Though quite a number of people told her she needed to do the same, Caulifla rarely took such advice to heart, as, compared to Kale, she may as well have perfect control. The latter had nearly destroyed the very fabric of reality when she learned that Vahn had 'stolen' her virginity. Thus, so long as Kale was around, Caulifla could rest easy knowing she would never be the worst when it came to controlling both her anger and Ki...

Just as Caulifla was prepared to pull out her own locket, a convenient tool she could use to track Kale, a dome more than three hundred kilometers in diameter formed in the exposed mantle below. It was quite the terrifying sight to behold, but, compared to the cataclysmic scene that followed, it was soon forgotten by the countless observing the scene from outside the Game Board...

Resentful of the fact that Kale had eliminated his closest friend and companion before they even had the opportunity to play around, Shuten immediately transformed his body into a massive red Oni more than sixteen meters in height. The oversized gourd that had previously been strapped to his waist now appeared relatively small as he grasped it in his hand and aimed the mouth towards the surprisingly one-armed Kale, shouting, "Your suffering will be legendary...!"

As a large plume of reddish-pink steam emerged from the stump of her rapidly regenerating left arm, Kale unleashed a pillar of peculiar green energy that appeared to fill the heavens. In response, Shuten simply thumbed open his gourd. This was the cause of the mantle's magma surging upward, as, the moment the cork was removed, a suction force comparable to a miniature black hole began sucking up everything with impunity. At the same time, the toothy maw on the bottom of Shuten's gourd opened up, a seemingly endless tide of wine-smelling blood surging into the atmosphere as it attempted to form a fleshy membrane around the entire planet.

Sensing that something was amiss, Caulifla used Instant Transmission to appear next to the fiercely smiling Shuten. The red-skinned Oni was briefly caught off guard by her sudden appearance, but, the moment her fist barreled towards his left cheek, the fiery red locks flowing away from his scalp like a mane immediately surged toward her as if they had a mind of their own.

Thanks to her rudimentary mastery over Ultra Instinct/Autonomous Sovereign, Caulifla was able to evade the entangling locks long before they could surround her. What she wasn't prepared for was Shuten turning away from her, almost as if he was about to run away. Instead, he continued nearly 270 degrees, his right hand sweeping toward her in a backhand motion as the toothy maw near the base of his gourd stretched more than eight meters in diameter.

Though the interior of the maw was pitch black, an indescribably repugnant aroma of blood and wine assaulted Caulifla's senses as she attempted to escape using Instant Transmission. Her efforts were ultimately successful, but, the moment she reappeared, the world in Caulifla's vision began to spin as an overwhelming feeling of drunkenness assaulted her mind. Even the accessories prepared by Vahn didn't help, as, much like the poison of the Nidhogg, the Blood Wine of Shuten possessed qualities that simply couldn't be negated using conventional methods.

Unable to maintain her focus, the aura protecting Caulifla's body faded away as she began falling towards the turbulent pool of magma below. Unfortunately, Shuten had no intention of letting her be eliminated from the competition. His gourd possessed an ability that allowed him to imprison his enemies in a sub-dimensional space that would crush them under immense pressure without killing them. More terrifyingly, those sealed within would be prohibited from surrendering as the gourd was one of the many sources of Shuten's power. As a result, anyone unlucky enough to be captured would be forced to remain inside for the duration of the Gift Game, their bodies crushed and squeezed under immense, irresistible pressure...

Smiling viciously, Shuten attempted to scoop up the defenseless Caulifla before she or Kale could recover from the effects of his Blood Wine. The maw on the bottom of his gourd stretched more than fifteen meters in diameter, but, just as it was enveloped the half-conscious Saiyaness, goose pimples spread across Shuten's body as the pupils of his eyes shrank to the size of pinholes.

Before the fiery-haired Oni could make heads or tails of what was happening, an overwhelming pressure assaulted him from every angle. From the perspective of the Casters and spectators, he appeared to suspend in place before the entirety of his sixteen-meter frame was spontaneously compressed to the size of a softball. Then, with one final contraction, the most vile and wicked of Japan's Three Great Monsters was eliminated from the competition. As for Caulifla, she ended up being rescued by Kale long before her body got anywhere near the magma bubbling up from the mantle...

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Opening his eyes, a faint blue glow could be seen in the depths of Vahn's pupils before promptly fading away. The aura exuding from Shuten's body gave him a bad feeling, so, the moment he saw Caulifla collapse, he gave in and asked Loi-chan what the effects of the gourd were.

Upon hearing Loi-chan's explanation, an unbelievably frigid sensation spread through Vahn's mind as his intent closed around the errant demon like a vice. This was immediately sensed by Fenrir and Mikoto, but, instead of saying anything, the duo simply nestled closer to him as he crushed the red-headed Oni using raw, unparalleled willpower. This caused several cameras to focus on him, but, as even the Central Network couldn't trace his intent, no one knew for certain if he was the one to kill Shuten...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Kale don't play...','Suck-boi Shuten-doji...','O_O...')

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