Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos

While chaos spread through the former Little Garden, Azi continued to stare at the sky as if awaiting an answer to his question. At the same time, he couldn't help feeling like he had fallen or was currently being lured into an inescapable trap...
Interrupting the ancient evil's thoughts, or at least attempting to, a beam of luminous gold enveloped Azi, the energy within so pure it dispersed the miasma that had begun to accumulate in the area. In its place, an area of several kilometers became sanctified ground, glowing with a faint golden light as 'god rays' illuminated the area.
Following the light to its origin, a woman with long golden hair and azure blue eyes could be seen wielding a large, silvery-white claymore with a crimson hilt. Her athletic body was garbed in a black one-piece dress with a short, frilly white skirt and leather leggings. Over that, she wore ornate, silvery-white plate mail that covered her breasts, shoulders, arms, waist, and the lower half of her legs, seemingly comprised of the same material as her sword. More notably, her waist bore a piece of red fabric, bearing a once-famous coat of arms that depicted a lion's head...
Seeing the ephemerally beautiful woman appear on numerous displays, the excitement of the people spectating from the Little Garden reached a crescendo. Not everyone immediately recognized her, but those that did excitedly spread the word. The Community the woman belonged to may have fallen out of favor, but she was still one of the most famous figures in the Little Garden: Artorias Pendragon, the King of Knights and the Ruler of Avalon.
Though she initially took part in the Pandemonium Gift Game to restore the honor of her Community, Artorias couldn't ignore an evil right in front of her. Azi exuded an evil unlike anything she had ever sensed, so taking him out took priority over everything else.
Just as it seemed Artorias's attack may have been effective, the beam of light emanating from her Excalibur shattered like glass. At the same time, the left-most head of Azi shouted, "You bitch! That fucking burns...!"
Seeing Azi shatter her energy-based attack with a backhand, the pupils of Artorias's azure eyes contracted. Her expression remained calm and dignified, but a sense of foreboding took root in her heart as the central head turned toward her, staring at her Excalibur as it said, "The power of hope...one of the few weapons capable of killing me. It's a pity you seem to have lost it..."
Before Artorias could respond, Azi streaked across the sky like a black meteor surrounded by pitch black. His movements tore through Space as he traveled, so a trail of destruction followed in his wake as he attempted to grasp Artorias's neck.
Demonstrating that she wasn't known as the King of Knights for nothing, Artorias evaded Azi's attack at the last moment, darting backward as she swept Excalibur at his wrist. Unfortunately, her attack impacted the stake-bound manacles encompassing Azi's wrist, deflecting off the seemingly indestructible material with more force than her actual swing.
"Hoooo...you're not half bad..." remarked the right-most head. The central head agreed with this sentiment, but it was ruined by the left-most head screaming, "This bitch has a whiff of Dragon's blood flowing through her veins! Let's make her into a seedbed...!"
While slapping the left-most head, Azi used his shadowy wings to try and pierce Artorias. The latter was able to evade and even cut through most of his attacks due to Excalibur's properties as a Holy Sword, but she was slowly pushed back as his regeneration drastically exceeded her damage output.
Voicing their combined thoughts, the right-most head explained, "Your mistake was confronting me with the notion your victory was assured. The moment your initial attack failed, doubt was seeded in your heart. From then onward, your victory became an impossibility..."
Gritting her teeth, Artorias sliced through Azi's wings before darting back to create some distance. Then, while holding Excalibur in front of her face, her azure eyes blazed with conviction as she firmly asserted, "Excalibur is the Sword of Promised Victory. I do not know from whence you came, but I will cut you down and rid the world of your evil..."
Staring at Artorias with his red, seemingly dead eyes, the centermost Azi adopted a 'very' disconcerting smile as he mused, "Hope is a weapon of the weak. The strong may inspire it, but it is not something they wield of their own accord. Your convictions are not your own. Therefore, you can never defeat-"
Interrupting Azi's musings, Artorias charged toward him, the blade of her Excalibur exuding a holy glow that dwarfed the radiance of the Sun as she attempted to bifurcate him. Her attack found purchase, but while she was able to cut halfway through Azi's waist, her attack stopped the moment it came into contact with his spine.
Before Artorias could retract her sword and attempt a second strike, Azi grasped her shoulders, all three of his heads staring down at her as the centermost head declared, "Your sin is that you were born too powerful..."
Without extrapolating on the meaning of his words, Azi stunned the entire Little Garden by abruptly pulling her 'into' him. Excalibur granted her one of the most potent forms of immortality in the Little Garden, but he didn't intend to kill her. Hope and despair were ultimately two sides of the same coin, so he planned to subsume her existence to elevate his own.
Just as Artorias was about to give in to despair, her body dispersed into motes of light. Azi attempted to absorb it, but his efforts were thwarted by an invisible force pressing down on him from above, smashing him into the ground without breaking it.
Despite his unfathomable strength, Azi found himself unable to resist the invisible force pressing down on him. Even stranger, he couldn't break the ground beneath him, almost like it had become indestructible. All he could do, at least for the time being, was watch silently as the motes of the light that used to be Artorias faded, marking her return to the Little Garden...
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Though her body was destroyed and her Ego sustained several cracks, Madara's internal System Template was able to repair the damage as she gradually reformed several hundred kilometers away from the blue-haired woman.
"What a monster..." remarked Madara, who, even after creating a new body, felt as though each of her cells was on the verge of breaking down. Her opponent's final beam attack had the terrifying property of Existence Erasure, so a powerful Authority was currently doing everything in its power to prevent her from existing.
Snorting through her nose, Madara gradually reinforced her existence as she remarked, "What foolishness. Did you seriously think you could erase me, Uchiha Madara...?"
Activating her Rinnesharingan, Madara's existence stabilized enough that she was no longer feeling pain. At the same time, a sound similar to glass being shattered echoed around her as the Authority attempting to impose her erasure experienced a rebound...
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While looking around for traces of Madara, the blue-haired woman's visor abruptly exploded, nearly knocking her out of the sky. She quickly caught herself, but a hint of disbelief marred her usually emotionless face before her visor promptly regenerated, concealing her crimson eyes from view...
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Standing high in the sky and overlooking a terrain filled with massive frozen flowers, Yuri remarked, "You're pretty strong. If we were back in the Tower, you could have easily secured one of the Top 20 &nbsp;positions..."
Glaring up at Yuri, Laulau growled, "You speak as if the match has already been decided..."
Scratching the back of her head, Yuri explained, "I didn't come here to eliminate people from the competition. I just wanted to see how strong you were before moving on to my next target. Do you really want to see things through to the end?"
"..."
Though her pride compelled her to respond in the affirmative, Laulau ultimately remained silent. Her standing as Floor Master depended on her ability to make a good showing, so she couldn't afford to be eliminated this early in the competition...
Sparing Laulau the indignity of having the surrender, a crimson spear tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, albeit much faster. Yuri managed to deflect it with the back of her hand, but she was still knocked by several meters, her arm vibrating from the force of the blow.
Shaking her hand, Yuri looked in the direction the spear had come from to find a tall and slender woman with purple hair and green eyes. Her body was garbed in the attire of a butler, but she exuded an aura only the most powerful of warriors could command.
Despite never having met, Yuri immediately recognized the woman, remarking, "You must be the Divine Realm's Scathach..." before adopting a broad smile.
Placing her hand over her heart, Scathach adopted a smile of her own as she answered, "Indeed. And you must be Ha Yuri, one of the Sage Dragon Emperor's many Concubines..."
Snorting through her nose, Yuri unleashed a massive, emerald-green tidal wave as she replied, "I'll have you know we're properly married...!"
Manifesting another crimson spear, Scatach cut through the seemingly unstoppable wave as if she were swatting away a fly. To Yuri's surprise, this casual act severed her control over the water, causing it to disperse into a steamy haze before disappearing entirely.
Narrowing her eyes in amusement, Scathach remarked, "My spear can cut through all lies and deceit. You may believe yourself to be powerful, but is that truly the case~?"
With her left eye twitching, Yuri manifested her Zanpakuto in the form of a &nbsp;pair of red gauntlets. At the same time, a complex magic circle appeared behind her, its core resembling the head of a seahorse with coral antlers.
"You've got a smart mouth on you," remarked Yuri. "Let's see if your bite is as strong as your bark...!"
Completely ignoring Laulau, Yuri charged toward Scathach like a meteor descending from the heavens. The latter couldn't fly without the aid of a Gift, but it didn't matter too much as she preferred to stay on the ground. In response to Yuri's charge, she simply adopted a faint smile, receiving the former's attack with the cylindrical section of her spear without giving so much as a centimeter of ground.
Feeling as though she had punched a void, Yuri's crimson eyes widened as Scathach mused, "That's quite the weapon you possess. I take it the Sage Dragon Emperor forged it~?"
Instead of answering Scathach's question, Yuri activated the ability of her Zanpakuto, causing an explosion comparable to a nuclear bomb to erupt from her fist. Laulau was forced to flee from the shockwave, but Scathach and her immediate surroundings emerged unscathed.
Retracting her fist and creating a bit of distance, Yuri adopted a defensive posture as she asked, "What's going on? Are you shielded by some kind of barrier...?"
Maintaining her smile, Scathach generously revealed, "It's the effect of my unique Gift, [Geass Spear]. It's weaker but functions similarly to the Authority of a Host Master. Unless you wager something, your attacks will not affect me."
Raising her brows, Yuri parroted, "Wager...?" before asking, "So I need to pay some kind of tribute just to damage you? How is that even remotely fair...?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Scathach replied, "Life isn't fair. Some are born with blessings, while others are fated to die young. My status as the most powerful spear-wielder is constantly in jeopardy, so it's only 'fair' that my challengers wager something in return. Depending on what you offer, the potency of your attacks will vary."
Clicking her tongue, Yuri muttered, "What a load of bullshit..." before half-turning to leave. Opponents like Scathach were a bad matchup for her, so she intended to bail before she was baited into wagering something that might cause Vahn trouble. To her surprise, Scathach didn't try to stop her, so she took one last look at the purple-haired 'demon' before teleporting away to find a less irksome opponent...
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(A/N: From now on, it's MI in the morning and EPIC in the evening. As for the number of chapters, it depends on my health and mood. At the very least, there will be one of each. Additional chapters can be found on my website(Libraryofakasha), but it'll be a while before there is a substantial difference between here and there.)

After killing hundreds of Azi clones, Kefla attempted to recuperate her spirit and natural energies by meditating high in the sky. However, as if she had been marked by the initial encounter, ever more Azi clones came charging at her, denying her the chance to rest.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck you all....!" shouted Kefla, firing off eerie green spheres that tore through Azi clones as if they were paper mache.
Adding to Kefla's frustration, a two-headed Azi abruptly appeared behind her, emerging from an eerie black fracture in Space-Time before trying to bite her. She responded by spinning around and kicking one of its heads with enough force to make it turn like a twisted rag, but the second head managed to bite down on her shoulder.
Though Azi's teeth failed to pierce her skin, the pressure of the bite dislocated Kefla's shoulder, causing her to exclaim, "You bitch...!" before landing a heavy punch that caused a gaping hole to appear in the clone's stomach.
Undaunted by the severity of its injuries, the Azi clone snickered evilly as the blood from its wounds congealed into thousands of additional clones. Its laughter was cut short when Kefla flared her energy, expelling it as an explosive wave, but it had served its purpose. Kefla's power had waned considerably, so the clone was certain it was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed.
As if to give credence to the clone's final thoughts, the rosy hue faded from Kefla's hair, tail, and the fur covering her body. Soon after, her fur coat began to recede, leaving her in her Super Saiyan Sage 2 mode with golden hair, green irises, and red markings around her eyes.
Popping her shoulder back into place, Kefla glared hatefully at the Azi's encircling her, asking, "Do you eerie fuckers really believe you can defeat me? You have no fucking clue who you're messing with..."
Providing Kefla a moment to catch her breath, one of the Azi's said, "You must be a descendant of that monster, Sun Wu Kong. But that durability won't save you. Once you've exhausted the remnants of your stamina, we will capture and consume you down to the last hair on your tail."
Snorting through her nose, Kelfa, or, more specifically, the Caulifla part of her personality, responded, "There's only one dragon who's allowed to eat me, and you sure as shit ain't him."
Punctuating her words, Kefla smacked her lower abdomen, manifesting an intricate, tribal-like pattern that rapidly spread across her stomach, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. As it did so, the energy emanating from Kefla's body surged violently, first exploding as a wave of pressure with enough force to disintegrate several clones before congealing into an eerie black and purple aura that caused her spiky hair to gain a violet hue.
Though the Authority of 'Hakai' didn't exist outside the Internalized Realm she originated from, Kefla possessed a remarkable affinity with the Law of Destruction. She had yet to master it, but the pattern that had developed across her body allowed her to fuse the destructive energy with her Sage Made, permitting the use of the 'Sage God of Destruction' transformation.
Spreading her hands and arms wide, Kefla opened her eyes to reveal black sclera and violet irises as she said, "Fuck off..." in an eerie tone that sounded like a call from the void.
Before any of the Azi's could respond, purple 'flames' emerged from the centers of their chests. They resembled tiny embers at first but quickly spread to encompass the entirety of the draconic entities' bodies. Since the flames spread from the very core of their being, it wasn't long before the encirclement became a mass of eerie purple flames that disappeared moments later, leaving no traces.
Wiping away a trickle of blackened blood leaking from her nose, Kefla watched as it dissolved into a fine mist before allowing her transformation to dissipate. Then, even though she really wanted to continue, she turned her gaze skyward and said, "I forfeit..." in a somber tone.
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Though he didn't like following other people's orders, Izayoi decided to seek out World Dragon Kurma after clearing most of the Azi clones in his area. To that end, he darted across the sky like a meteor, headed for the elevated ruins of the Inner Gates.
Contrasting the chaos of the Outer Gates, the Inner Gates were quiet to the point of being eerie. Even with his enhanced, borderline supernatural senses, Izayoi couldn't detect a single sign of life. There weren't even any Azi clones, almost as if they were willfully avoiding the area.
Touching down near a series of destroyed statues, the remnants of which were more than 60m tall, Izayoi scanned the area with creased brows. He might not be able to sense anyone, but he trusted his instincts. They were telling him there was a presence nearby, so he took a moment to consider the best course of action before pretending to drop his guard.
No sooner had Izayoi dropped his guard than a beam of radiant golden light rained down on him from above, its force powerful enough to drill into the nearly indestructible ground beneath him as if it were a pressure cutter slicing through sheet metal.
As the light cleared away, leaving a seemingly bottomless pit that glowed with a faint golden light, a remarkably tall figure with nearly obsidian skin appeared. His body was garbed in white robes, adorned with gold, and a massive gauntlet covered the entirety of his left arm. However, his most prominent features, besides his fiery white beard, were his golden eyes, the glowing rune on his chest, the four-pronged halo atop his head, and the twelve wings flowing from his back, each formed of golden light.
Appearing behind the angelic figure, Izayoi flexed the fingers of his right hand, the sleeve that previously covered his arm now missing as he remarked, "You know, I always thought Angels would be more monstrous in appearance. You actually look pretty badass."
Instead of turning around, the angelic figure teleported behind Izayoi, a cross-shaped sword of light appearing in his right hand as he said, "Burn in the light of Truth."
Swinging his sword in an arc that extended nearly a kilometer, the angelic figure cut through the statues Izayoi had been looking at, along with tens of buildings. Izayoi managed to evade it without issue, but he could feel his body gradually weakening due to the aura exuding from the presumed Archangel's body.
Before the angelic figure could issue a follow-up attack, Izayoi closed the distance between them instantly, burying his fist into the man's abdomen. To his surprise, his blow drilled into the man as if he had punched a block of stone, several cracks radiating from the point of impact.
Looking at Izayoi for the first time, the angelic figure frowned, his voice deep and resonant as he said, "Heresy..." in a condemning tone.
As Izayoi leaped back at a velocity rivaling teleportation, the cracks on the angelic figure's body exuded golden light before a massive eruption spread through the area, leveling an area nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter. Izayoi was almost swept up by the explosion, but he managed to teleport away at the last moment, grinning as he gazed at the epicenter to find a far more 'biblically accurate' representation of an Angel.
In place of the obsidian-skinned man with nearly flawless features, there was now an eldritch abomination with ivory-white, almost marble-like skin covered in innumerable holes. A total of thirteen golden eyes adorned the upper half of its face, while the lower half was a horrendous maw of gold-tipped fingers in place of teeth. Instead of resembling a man, it now had breasts tipped with moving eyeballs. It still possessed twelve wings, but they jutted out at awkward angles and varied in size.
Before Izayoi could issue a quippy one-liner, Seiun appeared before him, creating a barrier as an invisible wave swept through the area. In its wake, the rubble around him began to dissolve away, reduced to ashen piles of salt.
Speaking into Izayoi's mind, Seiun warned, "You must not look directly at it. I detect the presence of an Authority that exists outside the scope and influence of the Central Network. There is a 63.29883% probability it's the result of a Tier 6 entity's influence..."
Having learned of the existence of Soul Tiers from Vahn, Izayoi's usually casual demeanor faded away, replaced by a severe countenance. He had the potential of a pinnacle Tier 5 being, but the difference between Tiers 5 and 6 was so vast that reaching the pinnacle of the former was scarcely any different from being the absolute weakest Tier 1.
In stark defiance of this 'truth,' Izayoi punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand, regaining a battle-hungry grin as he exclaimed, "Now I'm fired up...!"
Kicking off the ground, producing a distinct 'dinging' sound as he did so, Izayoi charged at the biblically accurate angel with his eyes closed. In response, the angel's chest opened up like an abyssal maw, resembling the mouth of a lamprey that exuded golden light, but Izayoi was 'much' faster. Before it could try to swallow him up, Izayoi slammed his fist into the air less than a meter away from the angel, shattering it like the sugar glass used in movies.
Though a fracture in Space-Time ordinarily wouldn't be a threat to the angel, it didn't anticipate Izayoi immediately appearing behind it, landing a heavy kick to the center of its back. It had specifically adopted a form that was immune to physical blows, but, as if to defy the 'Truth,' Izayoi's punch sent it crashing into the vacuous tear in reality, nearly ripping it to pieces before the Central Network intervened, expelling it from the Game.
Expecting more of a fight, Izayoi watched the spatial rend gradually repair itself, remarking, "Is that it...? in a disbelieving tone.
Appearing next to him, Seiun replied, "It may have been borrowing power from a greater Authority, but it was ultimately a fairly ordinary Archangel. If the Central Network hadn't intervened at the last moment, I would have assumed it was the creation of another competitor."
Clicking his tongue, Izayoi groaned, "What a drag..." before slipping his hands into his pockets and resuming his search for World Dragon Kurma. Before he could get even three steps, however, every muscle in his body tensed, preventing him from walking into the scythe that had appeared at his neck...
Emanating from Izayoi's back, the voice of a young boy could be heard remarking, "You should have kept walking. Every route invariably leads to death, but you could have experienced a painless end if your senses were less attuned..."
Instead of stepping away from the scythe and trying to counterattack, a dauntless smile developed across Izayoi's face as he mused, "You know, I was hoping to lure out a big shot, but I never anticipated that Death itself would come for me..."
Narrowing his red and violet eyes, Death, appearing as a young boy with white hair and androgynous features, replied, "You are an ally to the Sage Dragon Emperor and an enemy of Truth. No matter the path you took, you were bound to meet me sooner or later..."
Turning his head, resulting in a thin cut on his neck, Izayoi stared back at Death and asked, "Then what's the holdup? With your power, I'm sure you could have killed me by now if you wanted to."
Furrowing his brows, Death remained silent for several seconds before stating, "I may have a use for you. If you're willing to cooperate with me, I will permit you to-"
Interrupting Death's proposal, Izayoi kicked the prepubescent Aspect in the gut, sending his tiny body flying backward like a bullet. Seiun was able to analyze Death's abilities the moment his scythe cut Izayoi's neck. As a result, Izayoi now knew that Death couldn't activate his powers due to the restrictions of the Pandemonium Gift Game. Thus, while the vast majority of creatures would feel helpless in the face of Death, Izayoi had a massive grin as he approached the extremely pale and heterochromatic youth, musing, "I've always wanted to kick Death's ass..."
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Kefla is surprisingly sensible...','Trypophobians beware...!','Don't Fear The Reaper...')

"Arcadia? It's a country in Greece and an island referenced in Greek mythology, located somewhere around the Peloponnese Peninsula. According to legend, it's a place where creatures of all shapes and sizes can be found, and, according to some, the inspiration for places such as the Garden of Eden."
As he had never heard of an Alliance called Arcadia, Izayoi could only respond with a few of the factoids he had acquired during his research. The woman he considered his mother had mentioned Arcadia during their travels, so it was one of the first things he looked into upon reaching the Little Garden.
Hearing Izayoi's response, the white-haired youth exhaled a sigh before muttering, "So, she never told you..."
Crossing his arms, Izayoi's expression hardened as he questioned, "That depends. Who's the 'she' you're referring to?"
Shaking his head, the white-haired youth replied, "Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to say. Besides..."
Gesturing to the chaos occurring around them, the white-haired youth added, "Now isn't the best time to be playing twenty questions. If you desire answers, seek out those who have concealed the truth. You can start with World Dragon Kurma..."
Having said what he intended to say, the white-haired youth turned away with the intent to teleport. Before he could, Izayoi placed his hand on the youth's shoulder, saying, "You never introduced yourself..." with narrowed eyes and a tightening grip.
Matching Izayoi's expression, a regal aura exuded from the white-haired youth as he replied, "Circumstances prevent me from disclosing my true name. As such, my close friends and colleagues have taken to calling me 'His Royal Highness.' I shall permit you to do the same."
Raising his left brow, a hint of disbelief appeared in Izayoi's expression as he smiled sardonically and questioned, "His Royal Highness? What kind of King can't even give his own name...?"
Instead of answering Izayoi's question, Highness smacked away his hand before disappearing in a flash of light. Izayoi was tempted to follow him, but, seeing as things were only becoming more chaotic with each passing moment, he ultimately exhaled a sigh, muttering, "Arcadia..." as he looked towards the plateau at the center of the battlefield.
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While the other three Districts were becoming increasingly chaotic, things were relatively stable in the West. The vast majority of Communities in the area, at least publicly, were related to Heroism. Thus, while competition in the West could get extremely fierce, especially around the time Rankings were updated, they understood the importance of cooperation more than any other region.
By combining forces, the Representatives of the Western Communities managed to drive back Azi's clone army with relative ease. They suffered tens of thousands of casualties before things settled down, but most of these could be attributed to Madara and other 'villains.' A veritable army of Heroes had tried to team up against her, led by the Rank 4 Hero, Blurry Bob, so she annihilated them alongside Azi's clones.
If there were a list keeping track of the number of Players each individual had eliminated, Madara would be in the top 10. Because of this, a growing number of people were paying close attention to her every action. Many of these people simply enjoyed witnessing brutality and violence, while others found themselves captivated by her beauty. Either way, the one thing virtually everyone could agree upon was that Madara was strong...
Unconcerned with how people viewed her, Madara was seated atop a massive, thousand-armed Buddha statue with three identical copies of herself. Gifts and Abilities related to cloning had been strictly prohibited, but Shadow Clones were an exception as they were considered physical projections, not actual clones. Any sufficiently powerful blow would cause them to disperse, so even though several defeated Communities had tried to have her disqualified, she was permitted to continue.
Sensing a disturbance, Madara opened her eyes just in time to witness a series of blue and pink explosions in the distance, peppering the horizon like numerous rising stars.
Without considering whether or not she would be intruding on someone else's fun, Madara rose to her feet and flew towards the explosions. They were several hundred kilometers away, but she closed the distance in an instant, finding several Heroes, Villains, and Azi clones being swept up by the explosions.
Ignoring the people fleeing for their lives on the ground, Madara turned her attention to a blue-haired woman 'standing' in the sky, high above the explosion. Said woman was facing off against a trio of two-headed Azi(s), but they couldn't get anywhere near her as she wielded oversized canons in each hand and was flanked by a total of six gatling guns, each firing off bullets that moved so quickly they left behind distinct black trails, tearing through the fabric of space and time.
Noticing the 'seams' in the woman's flesh, combined with the fact she was wearing futuristic, albeit skimpy white armor, Madara crossed her arms, raised her brows, and softly muttered, "Could this be the true form of Dragon...?"
As if she could hear Madara's utterance, the blue-haired woman looked at her, the upper half of her face blocked by a visor that vaguely resembled a VR headset. Despite this, Madara could feel the woman's gaze piercing through her as she continued to fire upon Azi's clones with cold, machine-like efficiency.
Just as Madara was thinking about taunting the woman, the visored battle maiden aimed one of her oversized cannons in the Uchiha's direction. The action caused the latter's instincts to scream 'danger,' so she immediately activated her Shinra Tensei, intending to deflect whatever was coming her way. Instead, her 'counter' spread unobstructed, suppressing a number of explosions, crushing several unfortunate Players, and sending a couple of Azi clones flying. When it impacted the blue-haired woman, however, she just shuddered for a brief moment, ultimately unmoved from her position...
Though it wasn't her first time encountering someone that could resist the Shinra Tensei, a frown marred Madara's face. She was almost positive the woman had exercised some form of Authority, so she promptly extended her right hand, grasping the hilt of a katana that had appeared out of thin air.
While drawing the katana from the void, Madara's expression became serious as she shouted, "Fan the Flames of Conflict, Gunbai...!"
As one of Vahn's Templates, Madara had functionally limitless Gifts, a Zanpakuto, and one of his most powerful Companions. When she called out the name of her Zanpakuto, fire erupted from her body, followed by a large fan manifesting in her left hand and a relatively plain-looking scythe appearing in her right. The two were connected by a series of interlinking metal rods, functioning as a kind of chain that allowed Madara to use the scythe as both a short and mid-range weapon.
Waving her fan, Madara produced a tempestuous wind that functioned similarly to Ea, tearing apart and collapsing the surrounding space. At this point, the blue-haired woman began to take action, the cannon in her left hand illuminating as it hummed like a tuning fork.
Expecting an attack, Madara was surprised to see the space around the woman solidify before rapidly mending itself. For the briefest of moments, she almost considered that the woman wasn't an enemy until a thin beam of light emerged from the end of the cannon, targetting her chest.
Though she was tempted to try and reflect the attack with her Gunbai, Madara decided on the 'safer' route, trading places with one of the Azi clones using her Rinnesharingan. Her initial target was the blue-haired woman, but the space around her currently couldn't be distorted due to the humming of her cannon.
As the swap was instantaneous, Madara was shocked for the second time as she found another laser awaiting her where the Azi clone had been. By the time she processed its existence, a beam of white light more than 10m in diameter had already enveloped her, its velocity several thousand times the speed of actual light.
Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, Madara was prepared to endure excruciating pain. Instead, she felt a similar sense of incongruency as her body, clothes, and armor began to lose their luster. When the light faded less than a second later, Madara tentatively opened her eyes to find that her previously crimson armor was now a peculiar shade of greyish-white, resembling salt.
As if to confirm Madara's suspicions, a gentle breeze caused her armor to begin flaking away. The same happened to her clothes, but while her hair and skin had turned a similar shade of white, they regained their luster as Madara stared at the blue-haired woman and growled, "You almost killed me, you bastard..."
Though they weren't visible due to the visor covering her face, the blue-haired woman's brows raised ever so slightly. Her heads-up display had allowed her to predict Madara's movements and confirmed the hit was a success. No matter how she analyzed the situation, her opponent's body should have been reduced to salt...
Speaking for the first time, the blue-haired woman asked, "What are you? Nothing born or guilty of sin should be able to withstand these sanctified weapons."
Equipping a new set of armor to replace her former attire, Madara leveled her Gunbai at the blue-haired woman and asserted, "I am Uchiha Madara, Grand Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan. Declare yourself, so I may know what to engrave upon your tombstone..."
Though the blue-haired woman's databanks recorded the existence of countless Uchiha, none of the information she had on file could explain how Madara could withstand her attack. Her records recorded the name and history of every human in the current Order, including their derivative species, so Madara either didn't exist or wasn't human...
Instead of revealing her identity, the blue-haired woman allowed her two cannons and the six gatling guns floating behind her to dematerialize. In their place, her right arm transformed into a black and white sword while a massive shield manifested in her left hand.
Witnessing her opponent manifest a sword and shield, a smile returned to Madara's face. She didn't mind using flashy attacks to take out groups of opponents, but her preference was close-range combat. The blue-haired woman gave her some 'questionable' vibes, but that wasn't going to stop her from enjoying herself.
As if she could read her opponents' intentions, the blue-haired woman charged forward at the exact same moment as Madara. Everything from their speed to the force behind their blows was functionally identical, but that just caused Madara's smile to broaden as she slashed forward with her scythe, shouting, "Block this...!" in a spirited tone.
Though she initially planned to do precisely that, the blue-haired woman changed the angle of her shield at the last moment while simultaneously stabbing forward with her sword. The former was the correct decision, as Madara's scythe possessed the not-so-unique property of being able to pierce just about anything. Thus, even though her attack was deflected, it managed to leave a deep trench in the shield's surface.
All but confirming she wasn't human, at least in the eyes of her blue-haired adversary, Madara didn't even attempt to block the sword aiming at her heart. It appeared to pierce through her, but, in actuality, she split open a channel just wide enough for the blade to pass through her as she continued forward to headbutt her opponent.
Despite her armor possessing properties that made it indestructible under normal circumstances, a sizeable crack appeared on the front of the blue-haired woman's visor while her HUD flickered violently. The damage was repaired almost immediately, but even a picosecond was enough time for Madara to capitalize on.
Still salty about being turned into a literal pillar of salt, Madara grabbed the blue-haired woman by the neck and attempted to use the Rinnegan's ability to read memories and extract 'souls.' She wanted to understand the blue-haired woman's purpose before deciding whether or not she should eliminate her, but she was denied the opportunity as her quarry's chest abruptly opened up, revealing a lens-like cannon within her chest cavity...
"Well pla-"
...
..
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Chuuni vibes...','Madara and Gunbai go hand in hand o3o...','The price of saltiness...')

Chapter 2341: Mounting Pressure